I have a question about custody. My granddaughter is 10 months old and was born with multiple defects including a misshaped ear and a heart defect which required surgery at 5 months. My daughter has a history of bi-polar disorder and has been transient since shortly after the birth of her daughter. With a brief exception, my granddaughter has lived with me continuously since her birth. Though my daughter has not accepted responsibility for raising her, or participated much she will not relinquish custody to me. She recently announced that she was going to take her to live with her and I am petrified at what she is going to expose the baby to. My daughter is currently living with her father who is a smoker and a violent alcoholic.
I was able to get temporary custody for 60 days before christmas but my latest attempt was not even addressed by the court because my daughter was not served properly. The attorney I hired at first said I had a good case but recently changed their story and said that the only path I had left was to attempt a termination of parental rights through them or DCF. DCF has done nothing in the past, and my attorney says that i have little chance of gaining custody because my daughter is working part time and can claim a stable residence an job. This has happened before and always results in her quitting her job and moving to a new address. Now, the babies father is saying that he is going to try and get custody of my granddaughter mostly to antagonize my daughter and I. He has a history of drug abuse and several arrests for domestic issues and is not able to provide her a stable home life either. I do not know what to do. It seems like things aren't bad enough to make DCF or the court system give me custody and I am petrified that when my daughter takes her she will expose her to dangerous situations and not provide adequate supervision. I hat to think that I am going to have to let something bad happen before the courts will actually step in and do something. I am sure I am leaving out important facts when I am writing this but just need to know which way I can turn to protect this innocent baby.
I was able to get temporary custody for 60 days before christmas but my latest attempt was not even addressed by the court because my daughter was not served properly. The attorney I hired at first said I had a good case but recently changed their story and said that the only path I had left was to attempt a termination of parental rights through them or DCF. DCF has done nothing in the past, and my attorney says that i have little chance of gaining custody because my daughter is working part time and can claim a stable residence an job. This has happened before and always results in her quitting her job and moving to a new address. Now, the babies father is saying that he is going to try and get custody of my granddaughter mostly to antagonize my daughter and I. He has a history of drug abuse and several arrests for domestic issues and is not able to provide her a stable home life either. I do not know what to do. It seems like things aren't bad enough to make DCF or the court system give me custody and I am petrified that when my daughter takes her she will expose her to dangerous situations and not provide adequate supervision. I hat to think that I am going to have to let something bad happen before the courts will actually step in and do something. I am sure I am leaving out important facts when I am writing this but just need to know which way I can turn to protect this innocent baby.
