Legal Question in Family Law in California

Me(age22), my little sister(7), and brother(15), were all adopted by my biological grandmother (not theirs) and she passed away a couple of days ago. My mom wanted me to take care of them but now I'm being told since I am unemployed my mom's other children may have the option of keeping them but that is definetly NOT what she wanted. Can someone help me with telling me what steps i need to take or where i need to go in order to get them adopted by ME? Also, her accounts have been frozen and I can not pay the rent because she gets adoption assistance direct deposited and one of her biological children took her credit cards from the hospital. What do I need to do to keep them and gain access to her accounts for rent etc for the children? Help is greatly appreciated in this time of need thank you and God bless!


Asked on 12/05/11, 2:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Schneider Family Law Center

You have two separate types of issues here: 1. custody of the kids; 2. The estate of your mom. As to the first, I would suggest, due to your age and the age difference between you and your siblings, that you cannot adopt, but you should do a guardianship of both the persons and of the estates of the kids. As to the second, you would need to speak with someone who does probate litigation in order to figure out how to get control of your mother's accounts. Good luck!

Read more
Answered on 12/05/11, 2:24 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in California