Mother In Jail, Grandparents Custody?

[meburnette]

What is the name of your state: California

My sister has 2 daughters, from different fathers, both fathers live in Utah, somewhere and have zero involvement with their kids (by their own choice).

My sister lives in California, with my mother. Since the birth of her second daughter my mother and stepdad have been almost the sole providers for the 2 little girls. They and my sister currently live with them. The girls are happy and well adjusted, but their mother is a basket case. The home provided by their grandparents is spacious, clean, well maintained and the girls have everything they need and more (provided by my mom and stepdad)

The girls mother was just arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance. She is now in jail awaiting trial. What is the status of the 2 little girls? Do their grandparents retain defacto custody based on the fact that they, while not having legal custody, are the childrens sole providers?

What steps should the girls grandmother take to ensure they remain in her custody while their mother serves her sentence, whatever it may be?

Neither my mother nor stepdad have a criminal record, they have a good income, own a nice home in a good neighborhood and take really good care of the girls needs. Is that enough for them to maintain physical custody, or do they need to take legal steps?

 

[Isis1]

Well. Has the fathers been established as dad in a court of law?are they paying any support?

 

[mistoffolees]

It's not an easy situation.

If either father were to come into the picture, he would have greater rights to the child than the grandparents.

There is the possibility of the grandparents obtaining custody as de facto parents, but this principle has been greatly weakened in UT:
Nos.?20040932, 20041031. - JONES v. BARLOW - UT Supreme Court
They court found that unrelated individuals (such as the non-biological parent in a homosexual couple) do not have rights. Somewhat confusingly, they ruled that stepparents do have some rights - at least as far as visitation is concerned. It doesn't look like all the issues are completely clear.

Compounding the situation is that if the grandparents were to file for custody, the fathers would have to be notified - giving the fathers reason to get involved.

I would strongly urge that the individuals talk with a good attorney about their options. If Mom is not going to be locked up for long, the best option might be for Mom to give Power of Attorney to the grandparents for medical treatment, schooling, etc and then just leave the kids there without formally filing for custody. But a local attorney would have a better feel for the situation.

 

[CJane]

It's not an easy situation.

If either father were to come into the picture, he would have greater rights to the child than the grandparents.

There is the possibility of the grandparents obtaining custody as de facto parents, but this principle has been greatly weakened in UT:

Mom and the children live in CA - unless there are existing orders in UT for the fathers, CA would have jurisdiction.

 

[Isis1]

Well, the kids live in CA with mom, grandma and stepgrandpa. So the UT link isn't much good.

If mom was just arrested, she might be out tomorrow morning depending on if this is her first arrest and if whether or not she was on probation at the time of the arrest. Depending on mom's sentence, she may only need to sign a power of attorney just for the short jail term.