Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
Hello,
My husband and I (32 years old, 26 years old) help my ex step-father (mother's ex husband) care for my seven year old sister. She lives with us full time in the Summer, and during the school year from Friday afternoons to Sunday nights when I return her back to her father. We live in NJ.
My (ex) step-father is a hard working man who loves his children, but unfortunately my mother has not relationship with the child and has not seen her in 8 months, nor does she want a relationship with her. My ex step-father has full legal custody of the child.
It has been decided as a family (between ourselves and my step-father who is legal guardian to the child) that the child would be better living with me and my husband full time, and go to school in our district. This was based on a few factors:
-We own a four bedroom home with a yard, and can provide her adequate living/conditions.
-I am female who can provide a little girl what mothers should be providing to her, and our mother is not willing to do.
-We can commit the time to ensure her school work is done and that she is able to participate in extracurricular activities such as; dance, sports, play dates with friends from school.
-She would not be shuffled from school to babysitter to grandma's with no outlet for friends, sports, and other child interaction.
-We are much younger, and are able to commit to a longer term care where my step-father has many health issues (diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.) and works 50-60 hours a week.
We spoke with the school in our resident district, and they indicated that even though I am the adult sibling to the child in order to consider her a resident of our house, the father would need to transfer legal guardianship over to us. I have issues with that, because we're not doing this because he is not willing to take care of her, or there is neglect, we are doing this because as a family we believe this is the best thing for her.
Can shared guardianship be granted to a father and sister of the child in the State of NJ, so that legal rights are not removed from the father, but rather shared with me and my husband, or, is the only way to legalize this to remove his rights and completely transfer to me? We do not want to do the latter because as a family we believe we should all have a part of taking care and raising her, but a majority of her life will be spent in our home.
If there is a shared guardianship opportunity, how expensive would something like this be, and how long does the process take? We never thought we would be faced with this issue since I am a sibling, but want to make sure we do everything by the book and what is best for the child.
Thank you for your assistance and feedback.
4 Answers from Attorneys
I do not believe that guardianship is the only solution. You and your stepfather could share custody of the child, with you having residential custody.
If there is no order in place currently, you would have to file a court action for some form of custody. You could enter a consent order where you have custody for school purposes and you would want to include other provisions in the order so you can make decisions for the child, like emergency medical decisions.
I would be happy to follow up with you. Please email me directly or call my office if you would like to schedule an appointment either in person or by telephone. My contact information is listed in the links below.
Disclaimer: You can not rely on the advice of an attorney given over the internet. The exact facts of your situation, including facts which you have not mentioned in your question, may completely change the result for your situation.
If your step-father has legal custody, you can file a motion with the court that gave him the custody to seek an Order allowing you to share custody. You would have to send notice of this to your mother. The cost would probaby be between $2,500-$3,500 unless some objection is raised. The first step you should take is to bring whatever court order your step-father has for your sister to an attorney and then review your options. Also, try to get some written guideline from the Board of Education as to what they will accept to enroll your sister in school.
I agree with the other attorneys, you should go to Court and have the Judge enter an Order on custody and control over the little girl, so that you have the legal right to act as her guardian and care-giver.
There are a lot of things that you will want to do for her, and you will need to have the legal right to do. For example, take her to the doctor, and also have her go to school in your town.
I would be able to help you, so please give me a call. It should not cost as much as all that, and you will have peace of mind knowing that this will not be a problem.
I am in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey. My contact information can be obtained from the links below, just click on the Attorney Profile link. Let my secretary know you found me through LawGuru.
Disclaimer: Your question and any response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and this law firm. You can not rely on the statements made by an attorney given over the internet. The exact facts of your situation, including facts which you have not mentioned in your question, may completely change the result for your situation.
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