Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

I am 19 and living with my 23 year old boyfriend in a two bedroom apartment. Both of us work full time, and I am taking online college courses. We are very financially stable. My 16 year old sister is being abused (physically and mentally) and neglected by my mother, who is living with a boyfriend (not my sister's father). My sister was also kicked out of an online schooling program due to attendance problems (she missed 22 days of online school). My mother lost custody of me when I was only a few months old and I was placed in the care of my grandmother. With my sister being abused as she is now, is there any chance that my I could gain custody of her? My entire family has witnessed my mother's violent outbursts and are willing to testify against her; nobody feels that she is mentally capable of raising a child. Also, my boyfriend has contributing to the delinquency of a minor on his record from when he first turned 18. Would that have any effect on my fight for custody of my sister? Would if cause problems for us since my boyfriend and I aren't married but are living together? We are more than financially able to care for her. Her father could also fight for custody, however, he has no job and couldn't pay an attorney, he lives free of charge in low-income housing due to being unemployed and receives food stamps. We would just like to get my sister out of the situation as quickly as possible, and would also like a general idea of who would have a better chance of getting custody of her.


Asked on 6/19/13, 8:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, if you suspect that a child is being abused the first thing you should do is alert children's services and turn over any evidence of the abuse to them. They will conduct an investigation and may even remove the child from the mother's home if they find conditions warrant. If you get involved with them and volunteer your home as a place where your sister can stay, they may go with that on a temporary basis until a hearing can be held. At that point, if no one steps up and wants your younger sister to live with them except you and no one files any objections or puts on any evidence that you and your boyfriend would be somehow a danger to the child, then you stand a chance of getting an order stating that she can live with you.

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Answered on 6/20/13, 4:22 pm


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