My grandaughter is a single mother. She lives with me (her grandmother) and doesn't have a job and any means for hiring of an attorney. Paternity has been proven and now the issue of visitation for the 7 month old child has arisen. The patern ...

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My grandaughter is a single mother. She lives with me (her grandmother) and doesn't have a job and any means for hiring of an attorney. Paternity has been proven and now the issue of visitation for the 7 month old child has arisen. The paternal father family lives in a home with numerous previous DHR cases (with her mother). The paternal grandmother took the baby when he was 2 months old and kept him away from the mother for 2 days. We got an emergency custody order from the courts. Can you represent with free legal aid in this matter

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

 
You mentioned several important points, and your learning more about getting information on each point will help you and your granddaughter, in the long run even before getting affordable legal help. So before we look at some ways to get legal representation, I have some questions for you (a) about the emergency order you have received, and (b) your very important role as a (great) grandparent and (it seems) a caretaker for the child.
 
We’ll mention it again, but Alabama (along with only 24 other states) has specifically passed several laws defining the “best interests of the child” as including “family integrity and preference for avoiding removal of the child from his/her home.” For a checklist of what Alabama does to help protect a child, and keep him in a stable home, you can look here… https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies /statutes/best_interest.cfm.
 
Implications Of Having That Emergency Order
 
You have already managed to navigate the court system, and started an important case file of evidence. It’s likely the same judge who issued the emergency order will also hear any custody case. Under some circumstances, whether a busy docket or some bias, the judge can be changed, but its’ not likely. Try to understand the role of the judge and watch for how he or she understands custody. The benefit you may have here is a judge who has already seen two things…some risk to the child’s welfare, and the existence of a usual care-taker. Along the same lines, be careful, however, not to over-emphasize the fact that there was an emergency order, limiting the maternal grandmother’s access.
 
Judges look at whether or not a proposed custodian will “foster” and encourage a string family network. It’s not clear whether you will need to argue for supervised visitation. If trying to restrict the father’s access, this may be based on the risks of the father’s home environment or the father’s own personality problems. Be ready to have hard evidence of any arrests or domestic violence: but again, keep in mind that judges don’t want to see which side “wins” since the key in Alabama is the “best interests of the child.”
 
If you have trouble affording independent home evaluations, you can try to get low-cost home evaluations. Here’s a place where you can find out what goes into these important steps of custody: http://www.alabamalegalhelp.org/resource/the-adoption-home-study-process?ref=0P7iT. The University of Alabama, in several locations across the state, also has programs that may offer free clinical help; they probably can’t be a witness for a custody hearing, but they might be able to submit a written evaluation or find a low-cost evaluator: http://www.needymeds.org/ free_clinics.taf?_function=list&state=al. This can help distinguish the mother’s child care skills from the father’s, whom, as you say, has had a lot of run-ins with DHR.
 
Your Status As A Grandparent
 
The father’s mother may claim to have some rights to visitation, too. You’ll want to review Alabama’s laws on grandparent rights. This is because an old law granting grandparents wide visitation rights was struck down in 2003. A new, more restricted “grandparents rights” law still has implications for this case.
 
Grandparents have rights if one of these five things apply: (1) one or both parents of the child are deceased; (2) the marriage of the parents of the child has been dissolved; (3) a parent of the child has abandoned the child; (4) the child was born out of wedlock; or (5) the child lives with both biological parents, but one or both of the parents has prevented a grandparent from visiting the child. The law also makes courts to consider the “moral character of the parents” along with the age and sex of the child to determine the best interests of the child.
 
So as we’ve talked about above, be ready to provide information that is current about your great-grandchild’s home environment. In addition to trying to find a social worker to help your case, be ready to explain any person who has substantial contact with the child, and the environmental supports (day care, friends, medical or health providers, and extended family members such as grandfathers) in your home.
 
 
Getting Legal Help
 
You can see if your granddaughter is eligible for the lowest cost legal services available (by calling Legal Services Alabama, 1-866-456-4995) or visit their web site: http:// www.legalservicesalabama.org/. The Alabama Bar also has some possible help, so here’s a listing of volunteer lawyer groups…http://www.alabar.org/members/vlp.cfm. In the meantime, there’s a library of self-help services that can help: http://www.courtreference .com/Alabama-Courts-Self-Help.htm.
 
 
 

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

 
You mentioned several important points, and your learning more about getting information on each point will help you and your granddaughter, in the long run even before getting affordable legal help. So before we look at some ways to get legal representation, I have some questions for you (a) about the emergency order you have received, and (b) your very important role as a (great) grandparent and (it seems) a caretaker for the child.
 
We’ll mention it again, but Alabama (along with only 24 other states) has specifically passed several laws defining the “best interests of the child” as including “family integrity and preference for avoiding removal of the child from his/her home.” For a checklist of what Alabama does to help protect a child, and keep him in a stable home, you can look here… https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies /statutes/best_interest.cfm.
 
Implications Of Having That Emergency Order
 
You have already managed to navigate the court system, and started an important case file of evidence. It’s likely the same judge who issued the emergency order will also hear any custody case. Under some circumstances, whether a busy docket or some bias, the judge can be changed, but its’ not likely. Try to understand the role of the judge and watch for how he or she understands custody. The benefit you may have here is a judge who has already seen two things…some risk to the child’s welfare, and the existence of a usual care-taker. Along the same lines, be careful, however, not to over-emphasize the fact that there was an emergency order, limiting the maternal grandmother’s access.
 
Judges look at whether or not a proposed custodian will “foster” and encourage a string family network. It’s not clear whether you will need to argue for supervised visitation. If trying to restrict the father’s access, this may be based on the risks of the father’s home environment or the father’s own personality problems. Be ready to have hard evidence of any arrests or domestic violence: but again, keep in mind that judges don’t want to see which side “wins” since the key in Alabama is the “best interests of the child.”
 
If you have trouble affording independent home evaluations, you can try to get low-cost home evaluations. Here’s a place where you can find out what goes into these important steps of custody: http://www.alabamalegalhelp.org/resource/the-adoption-home-study-process?ref=0P7iT. The University of Alabama, in several locations across the state, also has programs that may offer free clinical help; they probably can’t be a witness for a custody hearing, but they might be able to submit a written evaluation or find a low-cost evaluator: http://www.needymeds.org/ free_clinics.taf?_function=list&state=al. This can help distinguish the mother’s child care skills from the father’s, whom, as you say, has had a lot of run-ins with DHR.
 
Your Status As A Grandparent
 
The father’s mother may claim to have some rights to visitation, too. You’ll want to review Alabama’s laws on grandparent rights. This is because an old law granting grandparents wide visitation rights was struck down in 2003. A new, more restricted “grandparents rights” law still has implications for this case.
 
Grandparents have rights if one of these five things apply: (1) one or both parents of the child are deceased; (2) the marriage of the parents of the child has been dissolved; (3) a parent of the child has abandoned the child; (4) the child was born out of wedlock; or (5) the child lives with both biological parents, but one or both of the parents has prevented a grandparent from visiting the child. The law also makes courts to consider the “moral character of the parents” along with the age and sex of the child to determine the best interests of the child.
 
So as we’ve talked about above, be ready to provide information that is current about your great-grandchild’s home environment. In addition to trying to find a social worker to help your case, be ready to explain any person who has substantial contact with the child, and the environmental supports (day care, friends, medical or health providers, and extended family members such as grandfathers) in your home.
 
 
Getting Legal Help
 
You can see if your granddaughter is eligible for the lowest cost legal services available (by calling Legal Services Alabama, 1-866-456-4995) or visit their web site: http:// www.legalservicesalabama.org/. The Alabama Bar also has some possible help, so here’s a listing of volunteer lawyer groups…http://www.alabar.org/members/vlp.cfm. In the meantime, there’s a library of self-help services that can help: http://www.courtreference .com/Alabama-Courts-Self-Help.htm.