Michigan Child Custody Legal Questions

You can always petition the Court to modify the terms of your probation. And certainly being up to date on all payments will help your cause. The fact that you were given as much jail time as you were, tells me that you may have had quite the delinquency, however, and the court will want to be very sure that something like that won't happen again. Probation departments can vary greatly from county to county and it may be worth your while to speak with an experienced family law attorney in your area to get a better idea of your chances.... Read More

The problem you have is that lawyers will do an excellent and committed job but they cannot spend their lives on causes because that won't be put food on the table. You're out of state and that makes collecting unpaid fees very difficult. Therefore a lawyer has to get paid up front and whatever he thinks the case will ultimately cost. Promises to pay from people who are not his best friends are really stupid. Would you lend somebody 3 or 4 thousand dollars if they were complete strangers? Come up with a way to pay the lawyer up front. Also, it could be that the difficulty of the case that they perceive make it prohibitive.... Read More

Unfortunately, I do not believe that this is something that you could accomplish through the courts. For a litany of reasons, this is something that often comes up as individuals seek to move on from past relationships where children were involved. What I often recommend to clients whose only interactions with a co-parent begin to decline overtime and are based almost exclusively on quick conversations at pick-ups is to write and deliver and physical letter to the other parent when the drop off occurs relating to what has happened in the meantime. I recommend a physical letter because with emails or texts, there is sometimes concerns from the new boyfriends/girlfriends about the free line of communication between ex's. The physical letter can be read by both the parent and the significant other and nothing remains hidden.... Read More

Yes. The natural parent has an automatic claim that, in your case is particularly strong, because you have a relationship with the child. I'd go get the child. Nobody else has any standing to contest this under your facts. Just make it gentle on the child and if he/she has a relationship with others, let that remain for the child's sake unless they are really bad news.... Read More

Whenever a parent with custodial interests in Michigan moves out of state, or even over 100 miles within the state, that parent needs to petition the court in order to have the current custodial arrangement remain in place. Given that your ex seems to have agreed at first to this change voluntarily should help you to show that such an order would be appropriate and manageable for both parents, but you need the Order in order to enforce that.... Read More

You can always petition the court to terminate his rights, though you went about things correctly because it is much faster and easier if her would simply consent. Petitioning the court to terminate his rights may be difficult if he does not consent, if so you will want to look into hiring an experienced family law attorney in your area.... Read More

You can reach into your pocket, seek the help of private charitable institutions and help the parents in applying for governmental assistance. If the situation is abusive you might call children's protective services. Given the history related I suspect there are other issues and complications. I suggest conferring with an attorney.... Read More

I would need some more information to fully answer your question. First of all was you husband married to the ex at the time the child was born? If so, in Michigan, he is presumed by law to be the father. He can certainly petition the court to prove that he is the father, but in the meantime, he is probably better off making the payments until you have some ruling from the court which is ordering the child support in the first place.... Read More

I suggest that it might be possible, if the abuse and neglect was serious enough, to perhaps get this into Children' Protective Services. The notice to them might come from the school if they've noticed anything. You might talk to the child's teachers if they're concerned and generate something or you might do it yourself. The reporting person can be kept secret and if you are the closest relative, you will be first in line to foster the child.... Read More

You have a right to petition the court to change the custodial arrangement at any time and for almost any reason. This is certainly a change in circumstances that would allow such a petition. However, it purposefully difficult to take away a biological parents rights and I believe that this would be an uphill battle for you. It would be worth your while to sit down with an experienced family law attorney in your area and discuss the situation in more detail.... Read More

You just need the parent to sign a Delegation of Parental Powers, if you google "Michigan Delegation of Parental Powers" a number of fill in the blank forms come up that should work nicely. These have to be renewed every 6 months. If your sister won't sign one, you will need to file for guardianship.... Read More

I believe that the easiest way to accomplish this task would be to have the your niece petition the court to be emancipated. As she is 17 and has the consent of her mother, this should not be an issue. After that she can live wherever she chooses, though having your support will be helpful for her petition. Once emancipated she can go through the process of obtaining EBT and Medicaid.... Read More

While I understand that legal costs can be daunting, emancipation is actually one aspect of law that is relatively inexpensive, and under the right circumstances can even be free. Without emancipation, the parents still have the power to determine what is in the best interests of the child, so emancipation is likely your best route. The filing fee is usually only $15.00 and can actually be waived by the judge for low-income petitioners.... Read More

There are several avenues that you might take to address this problem, though none of them are easy and you would be benefited greatly by the assistance of an experienced family law attorney in your area. You can petition the court for guardianship of the child, as a grandparent you do not have the same rights as a parent but you do still have rights. Especially if the child has been living in your home and you have witnesses that it would be in the best interest of the child to stay in the home. You could also petition the court for a change in the custodial arrangement currently in place. It sounds like you have the proofs necessary to challenge CPS on their determination but you likely have an uphill battle ahead of you.... Read More