Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
I am 21 year old female, and I live with my 23 year old fiance. We both work and go to school. Our income is about 27,000 a year. My mom works as a director of nurses and she makes about 85,000 a year. My sister (who is 19) has a 2 1/2 year old little girl. In October of 2009, my sister began partying and drinking heavily. She left my neice in her crib for 17 hours. One time I found her passed out on the couch (hungover) and the baby had made her way under the sink and was drinking weed killer. So, my fiance and I took Amelia when we moved in December. We had Amelia until April when my sister said she wanted her back. When my sister got Amelia back, she was leaving her with friends and boyfriends who sold drugs and did drugs themselves. She was partying and she couldn't afford her baby. So, in June we went and got the baby again. When we got her, she had absolutely NO clothes, she had sticky stains on her skin that the doctor had told my sister to clean and give her baby a bath. Her hair was matted into her ears with earwax from not being washed or cleaned. She was underweight and scared of EVERYTHING. Since we had Mia we began to socialize her, get her on a regular eating and sleeping schedule, and teach her. She blossomed! She became more independent and she started talking. In November, Amelia's father said he wanted her back. In the one month they have had her, CPS has been called. CPS took Amelia from my sister because she was hanging out with felons and drug users. And, they said that the condition of the house she had Amelia in was unliveable. However, they places Amelia with her dad who lives with his married girlfriend. His girlfriend's husband is in Afghanistan. The babies dad does not hold a steady job, he has a history of drug abuse and stealing. He also has warrants for unpaid tickets. My sister barely works 8 hours a week at pizza hut. CPS is drug testing both my sister and the baby's dad. After they check the house has been cleaned, they will return Amelia to my sister. What are the steps my mom and/or my fiance and I need to take to fight for custody of Amelia? Do we stand a chance of winning? What steps do we take?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You need to hire an attorney familiar with family law issues and ideally CPS. Not many attorneys like to take on CPS. I don't know what county you live in. If you are in Harris County, I can give you some names.