QUESTION
Can my husband and I permanently care for a non-relative child who's parent has passed away?
Asked on Jul 17th, 2013 on Child Custody - Colorado
More details to this question:
A family friend passed away and left behind an eight year old son. The biological fater has never been in the child's life and I'm not even certain the father of the child is even known. Before she died, she gave power of attorney over the child to her sister. The surviving sister is not able or willing to take in the child. The child has been living with an elderly Great Aunt in different state. Though my husband and I are not related to the child, I was wondering if we could take the child into our home to care for and raise him? If so, how would we go about it?
1 ANSWER
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As a parent, I greatly respect your efforts here. If you would like to care for the child, you can file a petition for guardianship (the power of attorney ended when your friend passed away and is not relevant).
To file in Colorado, the child would need to be present here when the petition is filed (i.e., the sister and great aunt would need to send the child here), otherwise you will need to file in the other state in the county where the child is residing. There are quite a lot of hoops to jump through, and the assistance of an attorney can be quite helpful in these cases. I hope this helps.
Answered on Jul 18th, 2013 at 2:14 AM