ex parte guardianship hearing - my rights as noncustodial parent?

[Zigner]

Nope, you've got it wrong. I have never stopped "feeling" like being a parent. I've always been there for my son.

Ok, but then you go on to explain why I've got it right.

When the mother became unfit while I was in school, my parents and I discussed it and we decided they would get a lawyer and get guardianship so that I might continue and finish my studies.

 

[driver67373]

I'd appreciate knowing why you feel it would be best to remove your child from the only home he has ever known? CORRECTION - The only home he has had for half his life.

I feel that unless a parent is unstable or not a good influence on their child, that a child should be with the parent. I believe it is my right and responsibility to raise and take care of my son. The state law agrees. Grandparents have few rights in my state. The law aside, he is my son, I love him dearly. I want to be the one to raise him. He visits me regularly and has stayed sometimes a week or 2 at a time. He is comfortable in my home. He would see his grandparents very regularly. While it would be a period of adjustment he is a very resilient child and would adjust well. Things won't feel right until I am able to raise my son. I thought this was what was going to happen throughout college until my parents changed their mind. That is not right.

 

[BL]

Originally Posted by driver67373
If abuse, neglect, drug abuse etc doesn't make one unfit then I don't lnow what does. I was in school at the time and did not have financial resources to take care of him or hire attorney. Now I do. I did not come here to be berated. I asked what my rights are, nothing more.

BL

You have the right to hire a Family Law Attorney ( if you want to find out who's good ,hang around the Family Court Rooms and ask ) before the next hearing to be there with you .

Why are you still here instead of the courthouse then ?

 

[Proserpina]

I feel that unless a parent is unstable or not a good influence on their child, that a child should be with the parent.

Really? That is interesting.

I believe it is my right and responsibility to raise and take care of my son.

You forgot to add, "When it suits me".

The state law agrees. Grandparents have few rights in my state. The law aside, he is my son, I love him dearly. I want to be the one to raise him. He visits me regularly and has stayed sometimes a week or 2 at a time. He is comfortable in my home. He would see his grandparents very regularly. While it would be a period of adjustment he is a very resilient child and would adjust well. Things won't feel right until I am able to raise my son. I thought this was what was going to happen throughout college until my parents changed their mind. That is not right.

You perhaps need to address your hypocrisy before going further.

 

[Ohiogal]

I feel that unless a parent is unstable or not a good influence on their child, that a child should be with the parent. I believe it is my right and responsibility to raise and take care of my son. The state law agrees. Grandparents have few rights in my state. The law aside, he is my son, I love him dearly. I want to be the one to raise him. He visits me regularly and has stayed sometimes a week or 2 at a time. He is comfortable in my home. He would see his grandparents very regularly. While it would be a period of adjustment he is a very resilient child and would adjust well. Things won't feel right until I am able to raise my son. I thought this was what was going to happen throughout college until my parents changed their mind. That is not right.

The problem with your logic: You admitted you were unstable and unable to be a proper parent. Therefore, your parents got guardianship. Now you have to show why it would be in the child's best interest to rip him from their home just because you have decided that YOU want to parent at this particular second and your studies no longer come first. You are the one who decided to put SCHOOL before your dear darling child. YOU are the one who decided to forfeit that. You are the one who couldn't be bothered with having the proper priorities at that time. None of that is YOUR parents fault or YOUR son's fault. You don't get do-overs.

Oh and another thing -- this is NOT about you. This is about your son who has a stable, fit home with guardians who are stable and able to provide and have done so while you were busy being a student.

 

[stealth2]

I feel that unless a parent is unstable or not a good influence on their child, that a child should be with the parent. I believe it is my right and responsibility to raise and take care of my son. The state law agrees. Grandparents have few rights in my state. The law aside, he is my son, I love him dearly. I want to be the one to raise him. He visits me regularly and has stayed sometimes a week or 2 at a time. He is comfortable in my home. He would see his grandparents very regularly. While it would be a period of adjustment he is a very resilient child and would adjust well. Things won't feel right until I am able to raise my son. I thought this was what was going to happen throughout college until my parents changed their mind. That is not right.

I'm sorry, but you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. You have NOT taken responsibility for raising your son. Not when it was hard! There were ways that you could have raised your son - living with/close to your parents and having them help you by providing care while you were at school. Like I said - I know a LOT of single parents (Moms AND Dads) who have worked, gone to school AND raised their child(ren). NONE of them needed to give someone else guardianship to do so.

I think it's time for you to grow up.

 

[driver67373]

I am not going to continue defendng myself on some internet forum. I was in school when this happened and my parents offered to help. I was not living near my parents. I thought that the best thing forme to do at the time was finish my schooling so I could have a stable career and support my child. Not a single one of you have addressed the fact that my parents promised me they would give me my son after school and that they changed their mind. Non of you find this wrong or misleading? That is disturbing. They offered to d this for me and then decided that wanted to raise him.

 

[stealth2]

I am not going to continue defendng myself on some internet forum. I was in school when this happened and my parents offered to help. I was not living near my parents. I thought that the best thing forme to do at the time was finish my schooling so I could have a stable career and support my child. Not a single one of you have addressed the fact that my parents promised me they would give me my son after school and that they changed their mind. Non of you find this wrong or misleading? That is disturbing. They offered to d this for me and then decided that wanted to raise him.

Or perhaps what we see is a couple who realized that it is in the child's best interests to remain in a stable home where he has been raised for half his life.

 

[LdiJ]

I am not going to continue defendng myself on some internet forum. I was in school when this happened and my parents offered to help. I was not living near my parents. I thought that the best thing forme to do at the time was finish my schooling so I could have a stable career and support my child. Not a single one of you have addressed the fact that my parents promised me they would give me my son after school and that they changed their mind. Non of you find this wrong or misleading? That is disturbing. They offered to d this for me and then decided that wanted to raise him.

I happen to agree with you that what your parents are doing is wrong. It would be easy to transition your child, from the grandparent's home to your home, just as a child can be transitioned from one parent's home to another. However, you have to accept your own responsibility in this matter. You put parenting on hold, which caused a parental type bond to develope between your child and the grandparents, and as a result, the grandparents have a sense of entitlement that normally would not occur. Now you have to deal with the consequences of that.

 

[Ohiogal]

I am not going to continue defendng myself on some internet forum. I was in school when this happened and my parents offered to help. I was not living near my parents. I thought that the best thing forme to do at the time was finish my schooling so I could have a stable career and support my child. Not a single one of you have addressed the fact that my parents promised me they would give me my son after school and that they changed their mind. Non of you find this wrong or misleading? That is disturbing. They offered to d this for me and then decided that wanted to raise him.

Yeah it may be wrong or misleading but it is NOT illegal. In fact, the courts would not enforce any such "deal" anyway as it is against public policy. Guardianship/custody decisions are NOT made based on future events. They are made based on current situations. At the time you were not stable or suitable. you were actually unfit to parent -- that is what YOU decided -- and hence you gave custody to your parents. Now, for the court to decide the child comes back to you, the court must determine that it is in the child's best interest -- oh, and most likely that there is a substantial change in circumstance in the life of the child. It doesn't matter that you decided to grow up and want your child now.

Happy now? Your mommy and daddy were misleading. That was mean. You were ignorant and selfish however and that suited you at the time. Now you realize that there is a price to pay. Which means you might not get your son returned to your custody because you declared your unsuitability while you were in school.

 

[Ohiogal]

I happen to agree with you that what your parents are doing is wrong. It would be easy to transition your child, from the grandparent's home to your home, just as a child can be transitioned from one parent's home to another. However, you have to accept your own responsibility in this matter. You put parenting on hold, which caused a parental type bond to develope between your child and the grandparents, and as a result, the grandparents have a sense of entitlement that normally would not occur. Now you have to deal with the consequences of that.

But your opinion is NOT based on law. The law does not require that the guardians have to transitition the child to their son. The law does not require that guardianship be ended just because daddy grew up and decided he was ready to parent. So the grandparents are meanies but quite frankly, legally, OP's ignorance is what caused this. He was more than willing to do whatever it took to have his freedom while he went to school and he declared himself unsuitable to parent. Now where in the law does it state that because HE changed his mind, he should get custody returned? I'll wait.

 

[Ohiogal]

Arkansas law

I do not have a personal stake in this and am providing this for information contained -- it is written so that it is easy to understand:
http://www.cwarkansas.com/guides/legal/family/heading.aspx?heading=Guardianship


Your son has been with your parents for more than six months -- ergo, PERMANENT guardianship.

Permanent guardianship
Permanent guardianship occurs when an adult takes legal responsibility for a minor child who is not his or her own. In order for guardianship to be considered permanent, the adult must be legally responsible for the child for a period of more than six months, and a court must order the guardianship.


Responsibilities of a guardian
A guardian takes care of a child's personal needs, including shelter, education, and medical care. A guardian may also provide financial management for a child, though sometimes a second person, often called a 'conservator' or 'guardian of the estate,' is appointed for this purpose.


Temporary guardianship
Temporary guardianship occurs when an adult takes legal responsibility for a minor child who is not his or her own. In order for guardianship to be considered temporary, the adult must be legally responsible for the child for less than six months.

Termination of guardianship
A guardianship ordinarily lasts until the child reaches legal age, the child dies, or a judge determines that a guardianship is no longer necessary. If the guardianship was set up solely for the purpose of handling the child's finances, a guardianship may be terminated when the child's assets are used up.




What is guardianship?
Guardianship occurs when an adult takes care of the personal needs, including shelter, education, and medical care of a child who is not his or her own.

 

[BL]

I do not have a personal stake in this and am providing this for information contained -- it is written so that it is easy to understand:
http://www.cwarkansas.com/guides/legal/family/heading.aspx?heading=Guardianship


Your son has been with your parents for more than six months -- ergo, PERMANENT guardianship.







Termination of guardianship
A guardianship ordinarily lasts until the child reaches legal age, the child dies, or a judge determines that a guardianship is no longer necessary. If the guardianship was set up solely for the purpose of handling the child's finances, a guardianship may be terminated when the child's assets are used up.




What is guardianship?
Guardianship occurs when an adult takes care of the personal needs, including shelter, education, and medical care of a child who is not his or her own.

I read the timeline in the first post.What a mess.

Anyways , if i'm correct with a quick reading since April 2012 it would be within 6 months that Dad & Mom agreed to sign together.

Therefor what the poster is saying is his attorney was supose to file to have the Temp. guardianship revolked and file for custody for the poster.

 

[Ohiogal]

I read the timeline in the first post.What a mess.

Anyways , if i'm correct with a quick reading since April 2012 it would be within 6 months that Dad & Mom agreed to sign together.

Therefor what the poster is saying is his attorney was supose to file to have the Temp. guardianship revolked and file for custody for the poster.

In 2010 however is when the hearing was held granting guardianship. For some reason there was a do-over. HOWEVER, because the guardianship was held in 2010, that is more than 6 months ago.

 

[BL]

In 2010 however is when the hearing was held granting guardianship. For some reason there was a do-over. HOWEVER, because the guardianship was held in 2010, that is more than 6 months ago.

Yes I read that ,and I read there was another hearing where the mother of the child showed up and the Judge indicated it was temporary ,or for the Attorney to show it was not just temporary.

Then the poster indicated custody went to Mom ( mother of child ? ) by default . ??

Then there was April 2012 when both parent agreed to sign over guardianship again .

If so this would tend to show instability anyway,if you ask me .

Dad is within his rights to file for custody and to revoke guardianship. It does not mean they will be ordered though.