Legal Question in Family Law in Montana

Re: Niece in need of help

Tread very carefully here. First, before you jump into another family�s fray, I hope you get both

sides to this story. A thirteen year old might consider taking out the trash every night and helping

with the dinner cleanup too burdensome to bear. Did your niece recount all the chores her parents

�make her do?� or did she say only that she does �all� the cleaning?

Ask Niece to write down all the chores her parents �make� her do, including all the steps

required to complete the chore, how many times a week, how long each one takes. Write down

�all� the babysitting she does, including dates and times, and what she has to do (in other words,

are the parents going out in the evening, so the child is asleep most of the time? is niece required

to feed, bathe, pick up after, the child?).

Second, I seriously doubt you would prevail in a suit to gain custody of a child who is required to

do chores. However, you can count on destroying any friendly relationship you might have with

your relatives. Of course her mother will not allow her to live with you. Would you allow your

13 year old daughter to move out of state because her aunt thinks you�re a meany?

Third, at 13, no, your niece does not have any decree of control over where she lives. If she is

truly being physically abused, she can report the abuse to a teacher or her pastor, but she better

have more than �they make me do chores� before she throws the family into that turmoil. She

must understand that the Dept. of Child and Family Services will open a case and literally take

control of this child�s life and parenting until they are satisfied that either nothing was amiss in

the first place or that the parents have followed the treatment plan to the state�s satisfaction.

Fourth, you might consider talking to friends who have kids this age. Ask what chores their kids

have and how cheerful their kids are to do them. It will give you and your niece some idea of

what �normal chores� are for a child her age.