Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

permanent custody

I have permanent custody of a 4 year old . I have had her since birth. The birth mother was a friend of my daughters. She couldn't keep her as she had no home at the time & had lost custody of her 2 other children. She signed a paper stating that she was giving me custody of the baby. I have raised her since she was 3 days old. Two years ago we found out that my precious little girl is autistic. She only knows us as her parents. The birth fathers parental rights were terminated. I now ave heard that the mother wants to try to get her daughter back. What are my rights for being able to keep this child.


Asked on 3/17/08, 6:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gregory Lee Gregory P. Lee, Attorney at Law

Re: permanent custody

So long as a parent is not currently unfit for custody of the particular child, with all of the particular concerns, she has a Constitutional right to the care, custody, and companionship of her daughter. You should obtain a good lawyer in your area, and consider both litigating the issue of unfitness in this particular context, and ALSO the wisdom of working out an agreement that ADDS the birth mother to the child's life WITHOUT necessarily changing custody.

Read more
Answered on 3/17/08, 8:23 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Massachusetts