Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
custody
my sister who lives in va wants to have her baby where I live in Ma. and give me her sister full custody of her baby I am 34 she is 29 she does not know who the father is and after she gives custody to me she wants to go back to va. she want me to raise the baby as my own for ever and I am in agreement is this a possibility and would she have to go to court with me after the first court hearing or could she stay in va. and sign and notirise any papers the court may need signed and return them. Please help me know what can be done also do we have to wait for the birth cert. to come in or my we use the letter of birth the hospital gives after birth to do custody. I beleive we can do this ourselves and wont really need a lawyer seeing as it pretty straight forward .But if not could you also give me a rough idea of what all this could cost me if we need a lawyer
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: custody
You may be able to get a guardianship, but I have qualms about this.
First off, apart from claims of rape, women rarely have absolutely no clue about the identity of the genetic father. If your sister knows who the father is, or even who is in the group of probable fathers, he/they should be given notice of any guardianship or attempt to adopt in any state. Anything less raises questions of fraud and of the validity of the adoption.
Second, Massachusetts requires agency involvement in almost all adoptions of minors except for step-parent adoption. This protects the child or children, as well as the rights of putative father(s). I suspect you may need an agency to be involved. Some other attorney here may feel free to correct me if I am incorrect.
You should have an attorney represent you in any event, to protect your rights and minimize legal risks.
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