Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico
Can I get in trouble for harboring my 15yrold If I have no parental rights to my daughter whom is being verbally abused by her legal guardian (grandma) . Grandma dropped her off with a boy whom she knows nothing about. My daughter has not be back since around March 5. Grandma reported her missing
1 Answer from Attorneys
Depends on what kind of court orders may be in effect regarding the custody of the child. If grandma has a Kinship Guardianship then you would be in violation of a court order and grandma could send the cops to recover the child and charge you with whatever. The proper approach for you would be to go to the court that granted the Guardianship, plead changed circumstances and ask the court to revoke the guardianship and grant you custody. You can find forms to initiate that action on the supreme court website. Another approach, probably faster, would be to approach CYFD with a charge of abuse or neglect, CYFD could look into it and if they find it has merit then they can snatch the child and place her, and you would be an alternative they would consider. If you can afford it, it would be money well spent to hire an attorney. If you're harboring her, you're sort of hanging out there right now. If she's with some boy, you should be worried about her and help the cops to find her and return her to her legal custodian, or to CYFD, then begin the proceedings I discussed.
CYFD stands for Children youth and Families Department, and they have a hotline for reports like this.
15 - 16 year olds can be hard to deal with, and you might want to consider the possibility that the problem may not necessarily be Grandma. Maybe you and Grandma could team up to support the child.
Good luck.