[kcraft727]

I have a 10 month old granddaughter who along with her mother (my daughter) have lived with us for the last 7 months of her life. We live in Tennessee. My granddaughter was born in FL but after her birth my daughter came and visited us twice for 2 to 3 weeks each time. Then in April of this yr she moved back becausde of domestic issues with the boyfriend. He had started drinking a lot, smoking the synthetic marijuana not to mention he has served jail time for DUI's and at this time has not valid license except to drive to work if I'm not mistaken. Anyway last week he text my daughter to say he was coming to West Virginia bringing his mom back from Florida and wanted to see the baby. So she left on Wednesday and went to visit until Sunday. I got a call from him last night while at work informing me that he had taken my granddaughter and had her in Florida and left my daughter in WV at his families he had taken all her belongings also. Well I also find out that apparently my daughter has been absusing drugs for the last few months and I didn't know and he found out and took off with the baby. He has only seen her once since my daughter moved to TN for 1 day. Do I have any legal action or recourse I can take to get my granddaughter back. I fear she is not safe in his home. He lives with his new girlfriend, her two children, his 16 yr old son in a 3 bedroom house. His son has a history of using the internet to hook up with older men for sex. His father also has done this that is why my daughter left. I am desperate please help. I fear for my granddaughters safety. She is around people she doesn't know, in a strange environment, 700 miles away from the only home she has ever know and the only people that have taken care of her.

[smoothy]

First question... I did not see it in the post. Is there a court issued custody order in place now?

[kcraft727]

There is no court issued custody order. I know that is probably going to be the hard thing,

[AK lawyer]

So both parents of your granddaughter are unreliable and probably unsuitable custodians for the child. The problem is that parents are preferred over grandparents when it comes to custody. Therefore I suggest that the best move would be to get the state child protection agencies involved.

[ScottGem]

Is the father on the birth certificate? If he is the legal father then he had the right to do this.
You have no legal standing here. Your daughter need to file for custody. And if the father can prove drug abuse, he may win.