QUESTION
Since it's been over 6 months, could a court just grant us guardianship or custody if we've been providing for him for this long?
Asked on Jul 25th, 2016 on Child Custody - Oregon
More details to this question:
Six months ago, my husband and I began caring for our nephew for an undetermined amount of time so his mother could deal with her addiction and mental health problems. We have had little contact with her and she has provided zero support for her child. She has sole custody of him and signed over power of attorney when we initially took her son. I understand the power of attorney is expiring and I am worried about how to best protect my nephew from returning to an unstable life. We have researched guardianship but cannot afford a lawyer to petition for us. We're not even sure what state we should be looking into this through.
1 ANSWER
If you and your nephew have lived in Oregon for more than six months, your petition for guardianship should be filed in the Circuit Court for the County in which you have resided for that period of time. You can check into the online ?forms? tab at the circuit court?s website and check with the court directly to find out that amount of the filing fee for the guardianship petition. Once the petition has been filed, you will need to have the child?s mother served with copies of the petition and a summons which would command her to file an appearance with the Court within 30 days or the guardianship would be granted. If you do not have the funds to retain an attorney for this process, you might want to consult with an attorney in your area for some guidance on filling in the information required for the petition.
Answered on Aug 24th, 2016 at 6:00 PM