Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Mother is in jail
My sister has recently been incarcerated. While being arrested she asked the dective to call my mother to come and get her daughter. Of course my mother agreed and she is now staying in my mother's home. Department of Children and Families was never involved because my mother arrived right away and now my sister is in jail and my family has no intention of bonding her out. She needs treatment. In the meantime her daughter is four years old. She needs to go to the doctors for her immunization and shot records, a checkup, and a teeth cleaning, otherwise she can not go to school. She needs to be enrolled in the voluntary pre kindergarten program in Indian River County so I need assistance on what needs to be done for her to go to the doctor and be enrolled in school. I appredciate your assistance.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Mother is in jail
You did not reference the minor's father. Usually the Court will give custody to the father in this situation if the father is willing and able to care for the child. However, if he is not and the mother will agree to it, you can get a signed and notarized letter from her authorizing your mother to enroll the minor in school, provide her with the required medical treatment and dental care. Before you suggest this I would contact the doctor, the VPK program and the dentist to confirm that a notarized affidavit is sufficient for same. You also have the option if both parents will agree voluntarily to seek temporary custody of the minor child and you can pick up the forms to complete this at your local self help center at the courthouse. All three of these suggestions keep DCF out of the mix. If the mother of the minor will not agree then you can file for temporary custody and since this would be an adversarial proceeding you should probably seek the assistance of an attorney. If you do not have a temprary custody order and DCF is not involved there is nothing preventing the mother of the minor from picking the child up upon her release for the jail. Hope this info helps!
Re: Mother is in jail
I agree with Ms. Hessen. Unless you want the mother to be able to take over again when released, you'll need an attorney to assist you.
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