our neice wants to live with us and finish the school year

[dalton]

we live in pa-our neice is presently living with her father who is putting her on a plane back to her mother in nebraska on 3/31. she does not want to go back to her mom until the school year is over in pa. we would gladly allow her to live with us and finish the school year. her mom who has custody of her said it would be fine with her, but the father will not allow it. do we have any legal ground to stand on since the mother consented?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

we live in pa-our neice is presently living with her father who is putting her on a plane back to her mother in nebraska on 3/31. she does not want to go back to her mom until the school year is over in pa. we would gladly allow her to live with us and finish the school year. her mom who has custody of her said it would be fine with her, but the father will not allow it. do we have any legal ground to stand on since the mother consented?

My response:

Dad is merely following court orders by putting her on the plane. He needs to have proof, and the way to have proof is by way of the tickets and proof of purchase. Can't fault him for that.

Anyway, since 3/31/01 is a Saturday, and since Mom is the one with custody, there's nothing that says that Mom can't merely put your niece back on a plane headed for PA, and into your custody. If she arrives on Sunday, she'll be ready for school on Monday without even skipping a beat.

Make sure Mom gives you a "Permission Slip" for medical attention.

IAAL

 

[dalton]

I'm not understanding the first paragraph of your response. Perhaps, I didn't explain thoroughly. The original agreement between the Mom, Dad and child was for the daughter to come to PA with Dad for the school year and return to Mom for the summer. Dad because of his own personal problems has decided to send daughter back to Mom because to put it bluntly does not want anything to do with Daughter. We (the Aunt & Uncle) have actually spoken with the Mom who has no problem with her daughter staying with us to finish the school year. The Uncle (my husband) spoke to his brother (the Dad) but the Dad refuses to let her stay (out of spite). I guess what I was asking is can we override him and not have the daughter get on the plane. That's great if we would be able to fly her back, but it would be silly if it's not necessary. I would much rather see the money that would be wasted on another plane ticket go toward my neice's education.

Sincerely,
dalton

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I'm not understanding the first paragraph of your response. Perhaps, I didn't explain thoroughly. The original agreement between the Mom, Dad and child was for the daughter to come to PA with Dad for the school year and return to Mom for the summer. Dad because of his own personal problems has decided to send daughter back to Mom because to put it bluntly does not want anything to do with Daughter. We (the Aunt & Uncle) have actually spoken with the Mom who has no problem with her daughter staying with us to finish the school year. The Uncle (my husband) spoke to his brother (the Dad) but the Dad refuses to let her stay (out of spite). I guess what I was asking is can we override him and not have the daughter get on the plane. That's great if we would be able to fly her back, but it would be silly if it's not necessary. I would much rather see the money that would be wasted on another plane ticket go toward my neice's education.

Sincerely,
dalton

My response:

I'm assuming, then, that the "original agreement" you speak of between Mom and Dad was not a court-ordered agreement; i.e., this was a "private agreement". If there are court visitation orders, then the "private agreement" has no force or effect under the law.

Therefore, and continuing the assumption of court-ordered visitation, and whatever Dad's problems are, he's sending your niece back because of those custody and visitation orders of the court. Therefore, he needs proof that he's sending her back to the care, custody and control of the custodial parent - - Mom.

Since it is presumed then that Mom is the lawful custodial parent, she can send her daughter to whomever, and whenever, she chooses - - as long as she's doing the sending, and not Dad. Once he has completed his compliance with the current orders, his job is complete.

Believe me when I tell you, a plane ticket is far cheaper than a Pennsylvania court battle any day of the week.

Sure, he's being a jerk about it, and yes, he's probably following the court orders "to the letter", but there's really not much else you, as a third party, can do if he's following those court orders. So, niece gets to spend a weekend flying back and forth. The alternative is worse.

IAAL

 

[dalton]

Believe me we are trying desperatley to avoid any type of court battle and you're absolutely right a court battle would be much more costly than a plane ticket. I don't want this to sound like we have money growing on trees, but we weren't nearly as concerned about the cost of the ticket as the effect it is having on our neice. We just thought if an unnecessary plane ride could be avoided, we would try. But if we have to send her to Nebrasa and back in the same weekend, then we will, which leads me to the next question. To complicate matters even more, the Dad is our neighbor. Therefore, it would be obvious that she is back in town. Our concern is that he will go to the school and cause problems for her. I realize on a personal level we cannot stop him, but would he have a legal right to interfere while she is living with us under the consent of her mother?

Sincerely,
dalton

 

[LegalBeagle]

I think it would help if we stopped assuming anything and you told us what the current court orders state about custody and visitation.

 

[dalton]

If I knew exactly what the current court order stated about custody and visitation I wouldn't be seeking any advice as I would know exactly what our only option, if any, would be.

Sincerely,
dalton

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Not necessarily. However, it wouldn't hurt to have Mom fax you a copy of the visitation orders, to at least know if she can do what I've suggested to you - - or if there's an alternative that we can all discuss with you.

IAAL

 

[LegalBeagle]

If I knew exactly what the current court order stated about custody and visitation I wouldn't be seeking any advice as I would know exactly what our only option, if any, would be.

Sincerely,
dalton

Assuming that knowing what the court orders are would give you your answers is another assumption. We assume you came here for correct advice, the worth of this advice is linked directly to the number of assumptions we make and what we all assume to know or not know. 'Take away all assumptions will return correct advice' Chinese Proverb!