Legal Question in Family Law in California
Mother had child in jail what are our rights as the family
My cousin had a baby in jail. We hired an attorney before the child was born. The child was born and placed with Department of Child services. Now we are trying to get the child back into our custody. The child is now with a foster family and our next court date is not until July. We have called the attorney several times with no response. What do we do to get the child back and the misrepresentation of the attorney?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Mother had child in jail what are our rights as the family
In dependency cases the preference is to place the child with an appropriate relative. You did not state why mom is in custody and how long she is expected to be in custody. Your best chance would be for mom to file a petition naming you or another family member as the guardian of the child. This would require an investigation of your family back ground. If mom is charged with abuse with this child or an older sibling then her request for a guardian will probably not be successful.
Re: Mother had child in jail what are our rights as the family
You have no standing to obtain custody of your cousin's child. CPS is going to return the child to either the mother or the father or make the baby available for adoption within 6 months. You should try to help your cousin to regain custody if that's at all possible. If she is not going to get out of jail and the father is unavailable also then the baby needs to find a permanent home with a stable family. I don't know what the attorney you paid thought he was going to be able to do for you. I would ask for a refund.
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