The state that I reside in is North Carolina but my brothers (2) live in Ohio. So Ohio is where the case would take place. My mother has been abusing drugs since I was a child, I'm 24 now. I left at 17 to get away from that and now that I am stable in life I want to take my brothers from that situation. I've been contacted by one of the fathers saying he would sign over his parental rights to me and pay child support to me for his son, he just doesn't want to pay my mom if she's using it for drugs. Since I am not physically there I have no proof that she is still using but I have an extremely hard time believing that she's stopped.
Since I live in NC, what should I do? The courts in Ohio said I need to petition for each child and if I file as an emergency I would be able to speak to a magistrate and be granted a quicker court date. I know my mother will come to court saying that it's her "headaches" that keep her bed ridden to the point of unemployment. She's been claiming that but I know she's lying. She won't admit it and it's just my word against hers. She's been on suboxone for at least 6 years. I know for a fact she still does that. Which leads me to believe she definitely has not stopped using because I remember when she would go and steal hers and sell get for money to get real dope. I guess my question is, how do I do this? Should I hire a lawyer? I have a Go Fund Me so I'm in the process of fundraising for all of this since I'll need to actually take a trip up there. I was essentially their caretaker when I lived there so I have relationships with all their old doctors/teachers/etc. Will that help me? Would kind of evidence do I need? Any advice is much appreciated because I really feel like I'm underwater here.
Since I live in NC, what should I do? The courts in Ohio said I need to petition for each child and if I file as an emergency I would be able to speak to a magistrate and be granted a quicker court date. I know my mother will come to court saying that it's her "headaches" that keep her bed ridden to the point of unemployment. She's been claiming that but I know she's lying. She won't admit it and it's just my word against hers. She's been on suboxone for at least 6 years. I know for a fact she still does that. Which leads me to believe she definitely has not stopped using because I remember when she would go and steal hers and sell get for money to get real dope. I guess my question is, how do I do this? Should I hire a lawyer? I have a Go Fund Me so I'm in the process of fundraising for all of this since I'll need to actually take a trip up there. I was essentially their caretaker when I lived there so I have relationships with all their old doctors/teachers/etc. Will that help me? Would kind of evidence do I need? Any advice is much appreciated because I really feel like I'm underwater here.