Legal Question in Family Law in West Virginia
Custody of a Sister
My wife's half-sister(sissy) is in a middle of a custody battle. My mother-in-law has full custody rights of sissy but her father has visatation rights. Right now sissy is staying with her father and she doesn't want to live with her mother anymore. She is not willing to live with her father though. She has said that she would live with us but we are not leagaly able to ask for rights. Or do we? Is there a way that we could ask for custody of sissy?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Custody of a Sister
I am licensed to practice law only in Montana. This is not legal advice. What follows are just
some thoughts on a couple of issues.
Mother has legal custody of Daughter. Mother and Father share parenting. I presume this is
according to a parenting order that sets out the time Daughter spends with each parent. Father
might be violating the court order by not returning Daughter to Mother�s house. But Daughter does not want to live with Father either.
Consider: This is the reason the law does not allow children to make adult decisions regarding
the family. Children often do not know what is in their best interests, but they do know what
their emotions are telling them. And sometimes children quickly learn how to play one parent
against the other � you know the scenario: Mom said no,, so I�ll ask Dad �cuz he always says
yes.
Consider: This is a time of stress, upheaval, adjustment, loss, and recovery. Daughter needs a
stable and predictable family dynamic no matter what that dynamic looks like. Her parents need
to work together to find out what stressors are making the Daughter behave this way. Her parents
can hate each other as former spouses, but they need a good co-parent relationship for Daughter�s
sake.
Consider: Another person starting another legal proceeding is probably not going to help
Daughter settle into a life dynamic. By all means, befriend her, support her, listen to her, offer outside help in making clear decisions. But don�t gallop in with rescue in mind.