Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: question

Your mother has to petition the court to modify the earlier order. She will need to establish her change and improvement in circumstances.

Re: question

Dear Sixteen,

I hear your story and I only know a little about you from your question and can only share some of the hard-earned wisdom of someone with a few years of life experience and please realize that the law degree and license is just so much paper in the big scheme of things.

I can�t give you a legal answer because I don�t know much about your situation and not every situation in life has an answer to it that works from strictly a legal perspective.

You said your grandma adopted you because a court found that your mom was not able to do a really good job of raising you at that at the time. Whatever the circumstances were, I bet your mom loved you a whole lot at the time this went down. But something was going on in her life and she probably just couldn�t cope with the awesome and difficult responsibility of raising a child.

So your grandma stepped up to the plate. That�s a really big deal. Huge.

Grandma might have major flaws and she might have made big mistakes and she might tick you off frequently, but she was there for you.

So give a second look at life with your grandma. If it�s really bad for you there, then find a way out; but if she�s just difficult to deal with, then understand that life is about living with people who love you but are a pain. :-) The answer is inside you. If she is not good for you then you need to do what it takes to make things right.

I hear from you that you are a smart, perceptive kid and that this is about more than a strict curfew. Something is going on that made you move to your uncle�s house and consider moving to mom�s place.

So as a person and not a lawyer I would tell you to find someone who you respect and who you think is wise. Ask them if they think that making this move is the best thing for you. The person you ask could be a teacher you admire, a school counselor, or an adult in your family, or friend of the family whom you admire. Just ask the smartest, wisest person you know who cares about you. Ask them what they think you should do. Consider their counsel, but rely on your own intuition and good sense as well.

When you have decided what to do, either have that person contact a lawyer or the Legal Aid clinic in your area for help in achieving you goal. The lawyer can help you accomplish your goal with their understanding of the legal system. You can reach Legal Aid of Northwest Texas in DFW. Also try Texas Access to Justice statewide. Google them for the phone number.

Don�t give up until your gut tells you that you�ve made the right decision.

And in a couple of years you will be able to go to college. Do it. Find a way. Then become someone who helps people like you used to be: whether as a teacher, a counselor, a therapist, a scientist, an engineer, or whatever your passion is. Pay it back or pay it forward. God bless you.