Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
My now 17 year old niece has lived with my wife and I here in Washington State since she was five. We believe that my niece is my brother's daughter but do not have proof and no one is listed as the father on her birth certificate. My niece's mother is a subtsance abuser and is often homeless/transient in Rhode Island. Twelve years ago the mother allowed us to take my niece to Washington to care for her because she was unable to. She signed a paper giving us authority to authorize medical treatment for my niece. We have no other legal documents. We have registered her in public schools under our last name, which is different from the last name on her birth certificate, in order to lessen confusion on everyone. We are now trying to register her in a state run online school so that she can complete her high school education but they won't accept her enrollment because her prior school documents differ from her birth certificate. They said that if we get a power of attorney, we can then register her. Is that the correct route to take and how do I get a power of attorney. I doubt if I could even locate my niece's mother.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Is your brother available for genetic testing. (You could do it privately). You could do a combined action to establish paternity and if he is willing then he can do a power of attorney. Or you could do an agreed non-parental custody action, more protection if it is done that way, because undoing it takes a court order-all it takes to undo a power of attorney is for the principal to withdraw authority. You could get temporary orders in a matter of a few weeks. Power of attorney could be produced in a day.
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