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Help - Emergency Custody Hearing

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indygal

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? IN

Help! My granddaughter received a notice on the door tonight that there is an emergency custody hearing tomorrow morning. We knew nothing of this. 1) Can they do this that fast without her knowing or getting legal representation? The Petition is to take immediate custody of the 6 month old child.

2) the Judge that this is before is a Personal friend of the other parties' father and goes fishing and stuff with them. Is this allowable?

Background - daughter is 17, father is 17. Child is 6 months old. Father's mother has threatened the mother since the baby was born that she was going to get custody. Mother and her mother got into a fight 2 months ago and baby was in the room. Baby was not hurt. Mother and her mother reconciled. Up until that time, the father and his mother had visitation with the baby but paid no child support. Baby's father's mother wanted the mother and baby to move in with her family but baby's mother wanted to stay with her family. Tension was high and baby's mother stopped letting the father's family have visitation for many reasons. One, father did not visit with the child, he just left his mother do it. Two, father's mother would leave and go out of town without telling baby's mother and when she would come to pick up the child, he would not be there.

The baby's mother is terrified that they will take the baby from her. She does have a juvenile history (shoplifting & fighting) but the father also has a juvenile record (drugs).

3) What is the possibility that the baby would be taken from the mother?

It appears that the baby's grandmother (father's mother) is the one that wants the baby more than the father does. He was recently in a bad 4-wheeler accident and is currently in a brace and can not even lift the baby so it would be up to his mother to take care of the child.

BTW, at the time the mother was pregnant, the father's family tried to get her to give the baby up for adoption to the father's aunt.

They have tried every means possible to get this child.

NEED HELP FAST OR SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO GET THE HEARING RESCHEDULED UNTIL WE CAN GET A LAWYER.
:eek:
 


indygal

Junior Member
Additional Info

Paternity has been established. Mother has appointment with Procecuting Attorney in October to get support & visitation established. She is not a bad mother and loves her child and does everything she can for him. She went back to school to finish and get her diploma, works part-time in the evenings (4-7), and is planning on taking classes for her CNA in October. She is not a bad mother, just a teenager who made some wrong choices in her past.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
She needs to go to the hearing and ask for a continuance to hire an attorney....and then the family needs to help her hire one. Its CRITICAL.
 

indygal

Junior Member
Continuance

So, basically, if we show up and ask for a continuance due to not having enough time to prepare, that will be all we have to do and they can not take the child tomorrow? Once we get a lawyer and more time, is that when we ask for a another judge or should the judge excuse himself before trial tomorrow anyways?
 

gideon1973

Junior Member
I can't speak on what's legal regarding judge hearing the case or ways to postpone/reschedule, but here are a few thoughts on how to handle things, going forward...

Unless the father can prove the child is in imminent danger and that the child's best interests can be served by awarding temporary custody to him, I wouldn't think much would happen in this hearing until your daughter gets counsel.

I would expect that a GAL (Guardian Ad Litem) could be appointed in the interim tomorrow. The GAL is a state official that acts as a neutral party for evaluating what will serve the child's best interest regarding custody, welfare, etc. The GAL's recommendations usually have much weight with the court, so I would recommend your daughter get to know him/her well, if appointed. Make face-to-face visits at the GAL's office, allow free access for home visits, report "wrongdoings" made by the father, and GET THE GAL ON YOUR SIDE!

If she doesn't have one already, have her start a journal of his actions. Every little thing that he does wrong that can shine a negative light on his actions and show how he is not fit and your daughter is...be sure she documents it. Every negative conversation, interaction...everything. Then, once she has counsel, the attorney will have ammunition to use against the father in court.

Even though the child is only 6 months, you may consider getting a family counselor. You want to establish a relationship not only for its own benefit for your daughter and family, but also after some time, the counselor can have enough first-hand information to write a letter to the judge and make a recommendation to the court regarding custody.

Not to set a negative picture of how things will go, but you may want to be prepared for a long, expensive, trying time if he continues to fight for custody -- custody evaluations, MMPI-2 tests, evaluations on family members, continued court appearances. Unfortunately, sometimes it boils down to how long one side can "fight" -- READ how much $$ you have. This is worse-case, however.

Anyway, I hope this helps -- my fiancee and I are just getting over a very nasty and extremely expensive child custody battle with her ex. In the end, she got full legal custody and shared physical custody, but it took 18+ months of going back to court a half-dozen times, supervised visits, GAL involvement, counselors, clinicians, involvement from Child Protective Services, and the list goes on.

All the best -
 

TinkerBelleLuvr

Senior Member
Whatever you do, do NOT take the child with any of you. Place the child with a trusted party. First of all, children are NOT allowed in the court room. But do not have them ANYWHERE near the court house.
 

Shay-Pari'e

Senior Member
I can't speak on what's legal regarding judge hearing the case or ways to postpone/reschedule, but here are a few thoughts on how to handle things, going forward...

Unless the father can prove the child is in imminent danger and that the child's best interests can be served by awarding temporary custody to him, I wouldn't think much would happen in this hearing until your daughter gets counsel.

I would expect that a GAL (Guardian Ad Litem) could be appointed in the interim tomorrow. The GAL is a state official that acts as a neutral party for evaluating what will serve the child's best interest regarding custody, welfare, etc. The GAL's recommendations usually have much weight with the court, so I would recommend your daughter get to know him/her well, if appointed. Make face-to-face visits at the GAL's office, allow free access for home visits, report "wrongdoings" made by the father, and GET THE GAL ON YOUR SIDE!

If she doesn't have one already, have her start a journal of his actions. Every little thing that he does wrong that can shine a negative light on his actions and show how he is not fit and your daughter is...be sure she documents it. Every negative conversation, interaction...everything. Then, once she has counsel, the attorney will have ammunition to use against the father in court.

Even though the child is only 6 months, you may consider getting a family counselor. You want to establish a relationship not only for its own benefit for your daughter and family, but also after some time, the counselor can have enough first-hand information to write a letter to the judge and make a recommendation to the court regarding custody.

Not to set a negative picture of how things will go, but you may want to be prepared for a long, expensive, trying time if he continues to fight for custody -- custody evaluations, MMPI-2 tests, evaluations on family members, continued court appearances. Unfortunately, sometimes it boils down to how long one side can "fight" -- READ how much $$ you have. This is worse-case, however.

Anyway, I hope this helps -- my fiancee and I are just getting over a very nasty and extremely expensive child custody battle with her ex. In the end, she got full legal custody and shared physical custody, but it took 18+ months of going back to court a half-dozen times, supervised visits, GAL involvement, counselors, clinicians, involvement from Child Protective Services, and the list goes on.

All the best -
The mother isn't even posting. It is the Grandmother with no rights what so ever. I don't buy her story at all, and if everyone reads her post, they just may come to the same conclusion.
 

indygal

Junior Member
Truth

Sorry, but this is completely true. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Stick around. Tomorrow I can give you the cause number and you can look it up in DoxPop. Or since the mother and father are still juveniles, would it be listed? Don't know but it is the truth.
 

Shay-Pari'e

Senior Member
Sorry, but this is completely true. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Stick around. Tomorrow I can give you the cause number and you can look it up in DoxPop. Or since the mother and father are still juveniles, would it be listed? Don't know but it is the truth.

The CASE number would be great.

We shall see.
 

indygal

Junior Member
reply

You are correct, I have no rights. I never asked about rights. I want to know what my Granddaughter can do to keep her child. I will be with her in Court tomorrow and wanted to know what to say. She has no lawyer at this time and we need to get it continued. I wanted to know how to do that. Her mother has to work and can not be there and asked me to be there to support the baby's mother. After all she is only 17 years old and is scared of losing her child to adults who try to confuse her.

Does the mother of the father really have any rights either? She is the one that is trying to get custody of the child.

I also do not appreciate being called a liar. Are you a lawyer? And if so, in what State? And what is your attorney number?

Thanks.
 

janM

Member
Shay, in some states the attorney general handles child support. I don't know what the PA would have to do with visitation...maybe she misunderstood that part.

OP...no, the paternal grandma has no rights to the child. The father would have to get visits and she could see the child on his time, if he allowed it.

Let us know how it goes tomorrow.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Shay, in some states the attorney general handles child support. I don't know what the PA would have to do with visitation...maybe she misunderstood that part.

OP...no, the paternal grandma has no rights to the child. The father would have to get visits and she could see the child on his time, if he allowed it.

Let us know how it goes tomorrow.
In Indiana the prosecutors office handles child support....apparently the case started out as a child support case.
 

>Charlotte<

Lurker
GET THE GAL ON YOUR SIDE!
Indygal, it's up to you, but I would really strongly advise against posting your case number here (or any personal information, for that matter.)

Secondly, I just want to comment on the GAL issue.

It is the GAL's job to serve the best interests of the child, not the mother or father. In fact, having someone who is not biased toward either parent is the point of having a GAL in the first place. If your GAL is one that can be "gotten" on anyone's side, it's a GAL not worth having.

Tell Mom to be as accessible and cooperative as she can be. If there is no compelling reason to remove the child from her custody, that is what the GAL will advise.
 

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