Grandparent Custody?

[Morpheus1967]

State of Ohio
Summit County

Sorry so long, wanted to give as much info as possible...

Hello. My wife and I are currently taking care of our granddaughter. It is her granddaughter biologically, mine by marriage. We have been married 9 years, our granddaughter is 6. I will refer to the parent in question as "our daughter", even though she is my step-daughter. The father has not seen the child for nearly 5 years, no contact, no child support even though it is court ordered. I believe he served a jail stint for non-payment of child support very recently.

Back story: In November of 2014, our daughter moved from Florida to Ohio. The original plan was for her and our granddaughter to live with us while she got back on her feet. They showed up at our door with literally what they could fit in a Ford Fusion. Literally no money at all. The following day, mother and daughter had a talk, in our daughter said that she needed us to take the child, and care for it, and that she wanted to move to Dayton (3-1/2 hours away) to try and get a job down there, and an apartment. She also stated that she "could not take care of the child", had thoughts of hurting herself, and basically could not be a mother to her. We agreed to care for the child on several conditions:

1. We needed power of attorney (she went the next day and it was granted to us. We paid for it.)
2. She agrees to leave the child with us until at least the end of the school year. (This is her third school this year.)
3. She keep us informed as to her job/living situation, and to keep in touch with the child.
4. She keeps us informed on where she is staying.

I had to give her $50 just so she had money for gas to get to where she was going.

In February of this, frustrated with her lack of progress (she had a job that lasted 12 days and got fired, and still did not have an address) we told her she needed to move back up here with us. She reluctantly agreed, and moved back. We supported her for about a month, until she got a job. With her first paycheck, she left for the weekend and went back to Dayton. She admitted to us that she used a portion of her money to buy marijuana. After another 2 weeks of her living with us, the tension became too much, and we mutually agreed that our daughter would move out. Our goal was for her to stay up here, as she had just received a $4800 tax refund, and she was working. Instead, she moved back to Dayton, and per our agreement, we made her leave the grandchild with us to finish the year. And she never offered a dime for the care of the child.

Our power of attorney ends in November. The daughter says she has a job (Taco Bell) and is moving into her apartment on 3/20/15. However, she will not give us an address, or even an apartment complex of where it is. She only sporadically returns our calls or texts. We have also heard that once the school year is over, she is going to send the grand daughter to live with an ex-boyfriend in Florida for the summer.

My question is this. My wife and I both feel it is in our granddaughters best interest to stay with us. I know we will be facing an uphill battle with her mom, but my feeling is we are going to have to try and get custody. We would definitely adopt her. Ever since our daughter left, I have been logging the daily communication (or lack thereof) with our daughter. Is there anything else we should be doing?

 

[Zigner]

You (plural) agreed to help the lady by watching her child for a period of time so she could get back on her feet. I imagine that what you should be doing is realizing that the situation was never intended to be long-term and that the child will be going wherever the child's mother wants whenever the child's mother wants. The mother of the child can revoke your PoA at any point, and doesn't even need to do that in order to do as she wishes with her child.

ETA: You want to push the lack of contact by the mother with her child as an issue, but the fact is that we're only talking about a couple of weeks TOPS that she could have been out of contact.

State of Ohio
Summit County

Sorry so long, wanted to give as much info as possible...

Hello. My wife and I are currently taking care of our granddaughter. It is her granddaughter biologically, mine by marriage. We have been married 9 years, our granddaughter is 6. I will refer to the parent in question as "our daughter", even though she is my step-daughter. The father has not seen the child for nearly 5 years, no contact, no child support even though it is court ordered. I believe he served a jail stint for non-payment of child support very recently.

Back story: In November of 2014, our daughter moved from Florida to Ohio. The original plan was for her and our granddaughter to live with us while she got back on her feet. They showed up at our door with literally what they could fit in a Ford Fusion. Literally no money at all. The following day, mother and daughter had a talk, in our daughter said that she needed us to take the child, and care for it, and that she wanted to move to Dayton (3-1/2 hours away) to try and get a job down there, and an apartment. She also stated that she "could not take care of the child", had thoughts of hurting herself, and basically could not be a mother to her. We agreed to care for the child on several conditions:

1. We needed power of attorney (she went the next day and it was granted to us. We paid for it.)
2. She agrees to leave the child with us until at least the end of the school year. (This is her third school this year.)
3. She keep us informed as to her job/living situation, and to keep in touch with the child.
4. She keeps us informed on where she is staying.

I had to give her $50 just so she had money for gas to get to where she was going.

In February of this, frustrated with her lack of progress (she had a job that lasted 12 days and got fired, and still did not have an address) we told her she needed to move back up here with us. She reluctantly agreed, and moved back. We supported her for about a month, until she got a job. With her first paycheck, she left for the weekend and went back to Dayton. She admitted to us that she used a portion of her money to buy marijuana. After another 2 weeks of her living with us, the tension became too much, and we mutually agreed that our daughter would move out. Our goal was for her to stay up here, as she had just received a $4800 tax refund, and she was working. Instead, she moved back to Dayton, and per our agreement, we made her leave the grandchild with us to finish the year. And she never offered a dime for the care of the child.

Our power of attorney ends in November. The daughter says she has a job (Taco Bell) and is moving into her apartment on 3/20/15. However, she will not give us an address, or even an apartment complex of where it is. She only sporadically returns our calls or texts. We have also heard that once the school year is over, she is going to send the grand daughter to live with an ex-boyfriend in Florida for the summer.

My question is this. My wife and I both feel it is in our granddaughters best interest to stay with us. I know we will be facing an uphill battle with her mom, but my feeling is we are going to have to try and get custody. We would definitely adopt her. Ever since our daughter left, I have been logging the daily communication (or lack thereof) with our daughter. Is there anything else we should be doing?

 

[Morpheus1967]

You (plural) agreed to help the lady by watching her child for a period of time so she could get back on her feet. I imagine that what you should be doing is realizing that the situation was never intended to be long-term and that the child will be going wherever the child's mother wants whenever the child's mother wants. The mother of the child can revoke your PoA at any point, and doesn't even need to do that in order to do as she wishes with her child.

ETA: You want to push the lack of contact by the mother with her child as an issue, but the fact is that we're only talking about a couple of weeks TOPS that she could have been out of contact.

I understand what you are saying, and believe me, we want nothing more than for the child to be with her mom in a safe, stable environment. First and foremost. But there are the issues of drug abuse, lack of a place to stay and no job that have been constant, save for the time she lived with us, since November. She even an attempted suicide.

I am not saying we are going to try to get custody of her tomorrow, and frankly I resent the implication. (If not, my apologies.) I am simply asking what we should be doing, in case her behavior continues as it has been, to best prepare ourselves IF the need arises.

Thanks.

 

[Ohiogal]

State of Ohio
Summit County

Sorry so long, wanted to give as much info as possible...

Hello. My wife and I are currently taking care of our granddaughter. It is her granddaughter biologically, mine by marriage. We have been married 9 years, our granddaughter is 6. I will refer to the parent in question as "our daughter", even though she is my step-daughter. The father has not seen the child for nearly 5 years, no contact, no child support even though it is court ordered. I believe he served a jail stint for non-payment of child support very recently.

Back story: In November of 2014, our daughter moved from Florida to Ohio. The original plan was for her and our granddaughter to live with us while she got back on her feet. They showed up at our door with literally what they could fit in a Ford Fusion. Literally no money at all. The following day, mother and daughter had a talk, in our daughter said that she needed us to take the child, and care for it, and that she wanted to move to Dayton (3-1/2 hours away) to try and get a job down there, and an apartment. She also stated that she "could not take care of the child", had thoughts of hurting herself, and basically could not be a mother to her. We agreed to care for the child on several conditions:

1. We needed power of attorney (she went the next day and it was granted to us. We paid for it.)
2. She agrees to leave the child with us until at least the end of the school year. (This is her third school this year.)
3. She keep us informed as to her job/living situation, and to keep in touch with the child.
4. She keeps us informed on where she is staying.

I had to give her $50 just so she had money for gas to get to where she was going.

In February of this, frustrated with her lack of progress (she had a job that lasted 12 days and got fired, and still did not have an address) we told her she needed to move back up here with us. She reluctantly agreed, and moved back. We supported her for about a month, until she got a job. With her first paycheck, she left for the weekend and went back to Dayton. She admitted to us that she used a portion of her money to buy marijuana. After another 2 weeks of her living with us, the tension became too much, and we mutually agreed that our daughter would move out. Our goal was for her to stay up here, as she had just received a $4800 tax refund, and she was working. Instead, she moved back to Dayton, and per our agreement, we made her leave the grandchild with us to finish the year. And she never offered a dime for the care of the child.

Our power of attorney ends in November. The daughter says she has a job (Taco Bell) and is moving into her apartment on 3/20/15. However, she will not give us an address, or even an apartment complex of where it is. She only sporadically returns our calls or texts. We have also heard that once the school year is over, she is going to send the grand daughter to live with an ex-boyfriend in Florida for the summer.

My question is this. My wife and I both feel it is in our granddaughters best interest to stay with us. I know we will be facing an uphill battle with her mom, but my feeling is we are going to have to try and get custody. We would definitely adopt her. Ever since our daughter left, I have been logging the daily communication (or lack thereof) with our daughter. Is there anything else we should be doing?

Adopt her? Try again. NOT going to happen. Where is the child's father as he needs located? How is mother unsuitable? And marijuana is not it. Nor is leaving the child with you and your wife with a power of attorney. Has the parent bought anything for the child? gifts? clothes? food?

 

[Ohiogal]

I understand what you are saying, and believe me, we want nothing more than for the child to be with her mom in a safe, stable environment. First and foremost. But there are the issues of drug abuse, lack of a place to stay and no job that have been constant, save for the time she lived with us, since November. She even an attempted suicide.

I am not saying we are going to try to get custody of her tomorrow, and frankly I resent the implication. (If not, my apologies.) I am simply asking what we should be doing, in case her behavior continues as it has been, to best prepare ourselves IF the need arises.

Thanks.

You have no evidence of drug abuse. Using marijuana is NOT proof of drug abuse sufficient to remove a child from a parent's custody. Unemployed parents keep custody of their children as do homeless parents. And she does have a place to stay in Dayton, even if you don't know the address. Unless of course you can prove she is on the streets. What you should be doing is researching the laws and reading the local juvenile court rules. As well as the rules of juvenile procedure and the statutes pertaining to custody. You should also research Ninth District Court of Appeals caselaw regarding custody decisions.

 

[Ohiogal]

Further question for you --

1. We needed power of attorney (she went the next day and it was granted to us. We paid for it.)

A grandparent power of attorney costs NOTHING to file. And the forms are free on the juvenile court website that are required for same. So for what exactly did you pay?

 

[Zigner]

Further question for you --


A grandparent power of attorney costs NOTHING to file. And the forms are free on the juvenile court website that are required for same. So for what exactly did you pay?

Oh, come now...how could you possibly be so well versed in laws and procedures relating to this matter in the state of Ohio?
.
.
.
.
.
Oh, that's right...you're a family law attorney IN Ohio. I hope the OP recognizes that

 

[LdiJ]

Further question for you --


A grandparent power of attorney costs NOTHING to file. And the forms are free on the juvenile court website that are required for same. So for what exactly did you pay?

There is always somebody who will charge something for facilitating a POA. An attorney, a paralegal, even a notary maybe.

 

[stealth2]

Smh**************

 

[Morpheus1967]

Smh**************

All we are trying to do is what is in the best interest of the child. But I really didn't expect all the venom. That's why I asked. Because I didn't know. SMH indeed. Please feel free to delete or lock this thread. I won't be back when the expertise treats forum members like dirt. Bunch of sanctimonious a****.

 

[Silverplum]

All we are trying to do is what is in the best interest of the child. But I really didn't expect all the venom. That's why I asked. Because I didn't know. SMH indeed. Please feel free to delete or lock this thread. I won't be back when the expertise treats forum members like dirt. Bunch of sanctimonious a****.

I don't see any "venom" or any of the other unpleasant words you used.

I do see a person who gets offended easily and wants what he wants regardless of facts. Oh, well.

 

[Zigner]

I don't see any "venom" or any of the other unpleasant words you used.

I do see a person who gets offended easily and wants what he wants regardless of facts. Oh, well.

I agree with you. It's a shame too - the OP had an experienced OH family-law attorney commenting on this thread.

 

[Ohiogal]

There is always somebody who will charge something for facilitating a POA. An attorney, a paralegal, even a notary maybe.

Forms. Free. Summit County Juvenile Court website.
Filing fee. Free.
Help desk every Wednesday staffed with attorneys at the Summit County Juvenile Court to help you fill out the forms and give advice. Free.


Hey. It is all free. Go figure that.

Oh and ask me how I know about Summit County Juvenile Court and the magistrates and judges and clerks? Please. Oh and what the Ninth District Court of Appeals has said? Oh please. Ld, if they went to an attorney, paralegal, notary, they screwed up if they paid anything.

 

[Ohiogal]

All we are trying to do is what is in the best interest of the child. But I really didn't expect all the venom. That's why I asked. Because I didn't know. SMH indeed. Please feel free to delete or lock this thread. I won't be back when the expertise treats forum members like dirt. Bunch of sanctimonious a****.

What a shame. I know Summit County. I gave you advice. I asked you questions. You ignored them. I didn't treat you like dirt. I told you what to do. YOu didn't like that. What a shame.