Legal Question in Family Law in Arkansas

Re: Obtaining custody of grandson

I don't know the specific laws of your state regarding custody (I am in Ohio). However, I don't imagine you would necessarily need an attorney. Before you do anything, by the way, I would find out whether there is a father who is known or locatable. If he is in agreement, this could be simple. Check with the clerk at your local Probate or Juvenile Court to find out about Custody or Guardianship. In many states different courts deal with custody which is called different things in each court but adds up to the same thing. In Ohio, for example, Juvenile Court grants custody, Probate Court grants guardianship. It's really the same thing, but if everyone agrees the Probate procedure is cheaper and faster. Ask the clerk for the procedures and costs. But don't forget to ask about the father. If you get custody and later on he shows up, it could get messy.

Jonathan Schiff

Self employed

605 Rose Hill Ave

Re: Obtaining custody of my one year-old grandson

Generally speaking your options are limited to one of the following:

1) doing nothing and not getting legal custody.

2) spending a great deal of time and effort to learn what you need to do to represent yourself, something that could easily take several hundred hours, and still leave you unsure whether you had done it right.

3) just trying to stumble through without knowing what you are doing, and almost certainly doing it drong and having the case dismissed, meaning you are right back where you are now, or

4) hiring an attorney who knows what to do, and who will charge you for the knowledge and the time involved in helping you.

Take your pick.

One added option to consider, far beyond that you seem to have in mind, is adoption.

Jes Beard

Jes Beard, Attorney at Law

737 Market St., Suite 601