Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico

Re: child custody

You'll need a lawyer versed in Indian law. Look in the Albuqerque or Santa Fe phone book and you'll find lawyers under Indian Affairs or some such heading.

If you have legal custody of your daughter, one of the prerogatives of that status is that you get to determine where your child lives. The grandmother could only force you to give up custody in court if she could show you are unfit or perhaps in collusion with the girl's father petitioned for a Kinship Guardianship.

On the other hand, legal issues aside, you know as well as I that it is pretty difficult to stop a determined fifteen year old from doing what she wants. Your daughter is going to be on her own soon anyway, so unless you really believe she would be in danger there it may be wiser for you to just allow her to go live with the grandmother, but keep the door open - make a deal that she does her schoolwork and visits you on a regular schedule. Your daughter may discover that the grass isn't necessarily greener where Grandma lives, and Grandma may discover that fifteen year old girls aren't a lot of fun if you have to deal with their problems every day. Don't rent out her bedroom. In the long run it could be better for your relationship.