Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

41/2 years ago my granddaughters father passed away. Her grandmother did an emergency hearing to get custody of her from my daughter. 2 years ago my granddaughter came over begging me not to let her go home. It was horrable. I told her to talk to the schools counselor and tell her everything that was going on. So she did. The counselor told her there was not enough reason to take her out of the home. At that time I had no money to hire a lawyer so I went on line to see what the guide lines were to get custody. So I called D.C.F.. D.C.F. went to the house and said there was no reason to take her out of the home. Since then I hired a lawyer paid $4000.00. All she kept telling me was she was waiting on the paternals lawyer to call back. This went on for ayear. I could not get in touch with her and come to find out she quit. I hired another lawyer and now he is telling me the same thing. He charged me $1500.00. I am on S.S.D. and now I am moneied out. Oh yes, my daughter told me 2 weeks ago that the paternal grandmother told her if she would give her custody she would help her get other 2 children back. After her going to the courts andlying to the courts how the 2 youngest children were neglected. Everything that was being said in the court room was lies. The only truth was my daughter was an alcoholic. I really need help. And now I don't know what to do because of the money situation. Is there any lawyers that would work with me on getting custody of my graddaughter? Thank you so much for your time.


Asked on 2/25/10, 9:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lucreita Becude Lucreita D. Becude, P.A.

Contact the Florida Bar and report the lawyer that you paid $4000.00 to. Make her reimburse you. Once a bar complaint is filed, the lawyer must establish what she did and what she charged by giving an itemized statement. This would not have been a lump sum payment - she would have had to establish an hourly fee. Secondly, if you have no funds, you should apply to legal aid for help. There are several in every county so contact the Lawyer Referal and they should be able to give you a number to call. You can always petition the court for custody but you really need evidence that there is child endangerment. You do not say how old this child is but if she is at least 11 years of age or older, there is a strong possibility that you can have her testify and/or speak to the judge. You will need to get a guardian ad litem appointed for her to help speak on her behalf.

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Answered on 3/03/10, 5:08 am


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