Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Child's best interest over biological father
Since the death of my sister, over a year ago, her two daughters have been living with me and my husband. My sister was never married to the father nor did they live together. The father has never been apart of their lives and showed no interest in the children before or after the death of their mother. The children have been in my care for over a year. The father was o.k with the kids living with us until i asked him to help financially support them. At this time no one have any custody, guardianship or adoption papers on the children. The only paper I have on the children is a sworn affadavit, that i needed to get them in school, which states they live with me. The kids are stable, happy and is doing above average in school. The biological father is single, in the military and stationed on a ship. Would the courts grant my husband and I custody over the bioligical father? Please advise
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Child's best interest over biological father
Since you've had the kids in your home under your care and control for over 6 months, you have "legal standing" to ask a Court for permanent custody of them.
I strongly urge you to do so. Right now, if there is an emergency, you have no right to have them treated at an emergency room. Also, you really have no right to enroll them in school. This could become a problem when you move onto high school. (When my child entered high school, I had to bring a mountain of paperwork to enroll her!)
Since there is no rush, it is a fairly simple procedure.
The deposit in our office to begin a case like this is $1200. After that, weekly payment plan. If you overpay us, we refund your money at the end.
Since Dad is in the military if we need to serve him it will take awhile. If Dad is agreeable to you having custody, it's a pretty simple process. Of course, he would get visitiation with the children when he's able to visit them. The courts recognize that people in the military have difficulty visiting their children when you are assigned overseas or across the country.
Best of luck,
Fran Brochstein
www.familylaw4u.com
713-847-6000
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