Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
I have a great niece, age 16, who I have raised since she was one and a half yrs.old. Her mother lives in the area but has infrequent contact. No legal guardianship has been established, when a legal signature is required, the mother is often unavailable and I have to rely on the kindness of officials to look the other way and accept me as the legal signator, Aside from occassional birthday or Christmas gifts, the mother has never contributed financial support. Could I establish legal guardianship or even adoption without the mother's permission/participation?
2 Answers from Attorneys
An adoption without the consent of at least one parent is virtually impossible.
Even a guardianship in such cases would be difficult, absent consent.
If you file a juvenile case you run the risk the child could be placed elsewhere.
No. And this is not guardianship but child custody. You would have to petition for custody of the child. At age 14, the child can decide. For adoption, you first have to petition to have the mother's parental rights terminated. Then you can adopt.
You should have resolved this long ago. Since you waited this long, it will not be an issue in 2 more years. Either wait or file a custody petition. If you are serious about adopting, then do the termination petition. You will have to seek to terminate both the mother's and the father's rights.
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