[Gracie2014]

My great nephew has lived with me since he was 9 months old, he is 36 months old now. His mother has never contributed any type of support. Over the last couple of years I have helped her, but there is no bond between her and this child. She has had another child since then. I kept him for four months, she has taken him from here and now my ex sister n law has him. She does not call or contact the one I have or ask about him unless she needs help from me. She is on SSI. Is there anything I can do legally. I have no birth certificate for him to get him registered for pre k etc. Health dept says I can't get one unless I am ordered custody through the courts.. She has 4 kids total and doesn't have any of them. Need advice for this child.

[cdad]

Your only option is to go for custody. Then the courts can do something about it. As of right now you have no legal ties to the child and the mother can take him/her away at any time.

[ScottGem]

You are right, you have no legal rights when it comes to this child. The mother or father can come at any time and take the child back and there is almost nothing you can do about it.

What you need to do is, first establish guardianship. Get a court to establish you as the child's legal guardian. From there I would try for an adoption. At the least go for full legal custody. I would strongly suggest contacting a local Family Law attorney as to what the process is. But it WILL need to involve the courts.

You might also try talking with the local Family Services agency, but I would talk to an attorney first.