Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Older brother wants custudy of younger brothers who are in foster care.

Dear Inquirer:

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is executed by the attorney and client. This

communication contains general information only.

Nothing herein shall constitute an attorney-client

communication nor legal advice. There likely are

deadlines and time-limits associated with your

case; you should contact an attorney of your

choice for legal advice specific to your personal

situation, at once.

If you haven't already done so, please visit my

web site at --

http://home.pacbell.net/edbjr/ OR

http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com

The site contains quite a bit of general

information about California Family Law, as well

as information about me (education, experience,

et cetera) and my office (location, hours, fees,

policies).

NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

The facts that you have provided are not clear

enough and/or complete enough to provide a

definitive answer to you inquiry. That notwithstanding,

if the kids are under the jurisdiction of a CA

Juvenile Court you need a California Attorney. This

is not something to try doing yourself. Whether you

qualify for appointed counsel is questionable.

You may be able to merely get custody (like a foster

parent), or become their guardian.

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with

us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.

Re: Older brother wants custudy of younger brothers who are in foster care.

As a sibling you can adopt in California fairly cheaply. However you state

you live in Chicago. You would have to get an attorney in Chicago to help

you file an adoption petition then terminate the rights of the parents.

Usually for failure to support and maintain a relationship. If the children

are in state custody you should be able to apply to the state for custody of

the siblings for free either by way of a state foster placement,

guardianship or adoption. They can tell you if you have a chance to adopt.

You would probably have to get a private attorney but you might qualify for

a court appointed attorney if you are in a low income bracket.

The problem you have is you live in one state and the siblings live in

another. Right? You would need to contact social services in each state to

try and get help. I think you probably will end up having to hire a private

attorney here in California to put forth your case in California.

Please feel free to write back for more information.

John A. Giffen

[email protected]