Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri

Around 4 years ago my girlfriend let her parents watch over her son. She saw him from time to time but they definitely had him 99% of the time. They do not have legal custody. They do however have power of attorney which just enables him to be put in a school and to have medical treatments. We had two boys of our own since that time and it was hard to have him come live with his Mom again while we had infants. We are now more than ready to have her son come live with us. We live in Missouri and the grandparents live in Texas. They came in town for a funeral (and are still here for the next 2 days) and were supposed to drop him off to hang out with his mom for a while. They changed their minds and would not let him come over and my gf demanded they turn him over since she is the mom. They argued and cried and ultimately are still refusing. What can she do to get her son back? Everything I have read says that grandparents have no custody rights unless given in court. They have never had custody awarded. Shouldn't she be able to just get him and if the grandparents refuse they are kidnapping? We even went as far as to call the sheriffs office. An officer came and basically explained that they won't do anything to go get him since he has been with them this length of time unless there is a custody paper involved. Was the officer right? Do we need to go to court and file for custody? They'll be back in Texas by time any thing is set in motion I'm afraid. How can we get her son back?

2 Answers from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

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

Looking for something else?