Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico

Re: Gaining Custody of my sisters kids

You would have to get her to send the kids to California and keep them for six months before you'd be able to get jurisdiction over the children.

Re: Gaining Custody of my sisters kids

There are some paths to gaining custody of children. If you feel they are being abused or neglected you should report it to the Children Youth and Families Department - Child Protective Services. They are required to investigate and make a determination, and if they find abuse or neglect they have various options for removing the kids from the home. At that point they start looking for places to put them, and I don't know why they wouldn't consider the California option. But to get them to take that action sometimes takes pretty extreme conditions - CYFD is swamped, and abusive parents tend to be pretty good at covering things up when the inspector's around.

If you can get one parent to agree to it you may have a shot at a Kinship Guardianship (there are other conditions that make it possible but from what you told me consent of one parent is what would apply here). The other parent could oppose it and a judge will decide. This path does not terminate parental rights and it can be revoked later by petition to the court if conditions change.

You could try to terminate parental rights and adopt the kids but that has a really high legal standard and it doesn't sound like you're there yet.

What you might do is start by discusssing the kids with your sister and ask her if she would like to let you keep the kids for a while so she can get back on her feet, so to speak. She may even go for that if presented correctly (non-judgmental). You will need permission from the Dad to remove them from the state, and you will have to comply with whatever parenting plan was entered in their divorce, or enter a new plan that will need blessing from the court.

If that fails you could ask the dad if he would consent to a kinship guardianship, another of the paths to the KG. You can then take that to a lawyer to get the ball rolling. Or call Pegasus Legal Services for Children, in Albuquerque, for help with the guardianship.

Bottom line, the law provides means for you to take the kids under certain conditions. I would suggest you contact a New Mexico Attorney or Pegasus for further assistance - this will be really difficult for you to do remotely from California.

Re: Gaining Custody of my sisters kids

You need to consult a New Mexico attorney for their rules and procedures. You have difficult choices. In CA you would call the Dept of Child Protective Services and have them investigate. If they determine there is an issue, they may start proceedings to have the kids removed from her care, and you can chime in as a potential guardian/adoptive parent. Or, you can file in NM for a guardianship straight up.