I live in Florida. My best friend (yes, she IS a friend, I'm not making her up) lives in a dirty, very verbally and sometimes physically abusive home. She lives with her bipolar mother who pops her pills, her mom's live-in boyfriend (he's lived with them for nine years) and her younger half-brother. Both her mom AND boyfriend sells their prescription medicines, (and there is proof) which include xanax and my friend's ADD pills. She's thought of killing herself and using methods of self-mutilation. I'm tired of it, because I've personally seen these things happen to her for at least 4 years, and that's just for how long I've known her. She says it's been going on since her mom's boyfriend started to living with her. The boyfriend is definitely a BIG problem, that her mom fails to realize. He verbally abuses both my friend's mother, my friend, and his very own son. My friend's mother denies this immensely, and completely refuses to get out of the relationship. Her mom is also very mentally unstable, because of her bipolar disorder. My friend's aunt wants my friend to come live with her and gain custody of my friend, but she's still trying to figure out how to do this. A big problem is that her aunt lives in California, and doesn't know how big of a role that plays in her getting custody of my friend. I'd also like to add that my friend has recordings of her mom and mom's boyfriend fights and them verbally abusing. She also has some small proof of physical abuse. I, and quite a few others, CAN definitely testify about this verbal and physical abuse. SO, bottom line, my questions are: How could my friend's aunt gain custody of my friend, and could she even do this because the aunt lives in California, and my friend lives in Florida? If the aunt cannot get custody because of her location, her grandparents (living in Florida) would also try to get custody for my friend. Her aunt is also considering moving to Florida if she can't take her because of the possible California issues. I REALLY need to know HOW to even go about anyone getting custody of her, or if it is POSSIBLE. Thank you so much if you can help, this means a lot to me. I know what I said was long winded, but I wanted most subjects clear so you can give me the best possible answer, without jumping to conclusions on how/if she can't. Again, thank you so very much