four years ago i had to leave state for almost 3 months for a job prospect. i left my 6 month old son in the care of my mom (his grandmother). while i was away my son got sick and had to go to the doctor. the doctor would not see him unless his parent was with him... so my mom sent papers to me from her lawyer for me to sign so that my son could be treated by the doctor with my permission. i must admit that i did not read through the papers as the thought never crossed my mind that the papers would have been anything but my consent to have him treated. i faxed the papers back in to my mom's lawyer. after i returned home, my mom informed me that she now had custody of my son and i signed the papers giving up my parental rights to him. i tried contacting her lawyer to get a copy of the paper that i signed but he said he could not give them to me because of privacy laws between himself and his client (my mom). i do not have the money to pay for a lawyer and have no idea how to get this straightened out. my mom will not let my son live with me and i am wanting to move out of state but she will not let me take him, claiming she is now his parent. she also threatens to call the police if i take him. i have been doing some research and am wondering if the paper i signed was only a "temporary guardianship" given to my mother so that she could take him to the doctor and care for him while i was away... and if she really doesn't have custody of him like she claims. i find it hard to believe that all i did was sign a paper and that gave my rights away to being his parent. surely it isn't that easy to give up your parental rights! i never went to court, never went before a judge, nothing! she said she went to court while i was out of state for 3 months but i don't even believe that. does anybody have any clue on what might have happened? i want him back and i'm not sure if she really does have custody of him like she says, or if i have had custody of him all along and she has been lying to me this whole time. any feedback would be great.

four years ago i had to leave state for almost 3 months for a job prospect. i left my 6 month old son in the care of my mom (his grandmother). while i was away my son got sick and had to go to the doctor. the doctor would not see him unless his parent was with him... so my mom sent papers to me from her lawyer for me to sign so that my son could be treated by the doctor with my permission. i must admit that i did not read through the papers as the thought never crossed my mind that the papers would have been anything but my consent to have him treated. i faxed the papers back in to my mom's lawyer. after i returned home, my mom informed me that she now had custody of my son and i signed the papers giving up my parental rights to him. i tried contacting her lawyer to get a copy of the paper that i signed but he said he could not give them to me because of privacy laws between himself and his client (my mom). i do not have the money to pay for a lawyer and have no idea how to get this straightened out. my mom will not let my son live with me and i am wanting to move out of state but she will not let me take him, claiming she is now his parent. she also threatens to call the police if i take him. i have been doing some research and am wondering if the paper i signed was only a "temporary guardianship" given to my mother so that she could take him to the doctor and care for him while i was away... and if she really doesn't have custody of him like she claims. i find it hard to believe that all i did was sign a paper and that gave my rights away to being his parent. surely it isn't that easy to give up your parental rights! i never went to court, never went before a judge, nothing! she said she went to court while i was out of state for 3 months but i don't even believe that. does anybody have any clue on what might have happened? i want him back and i'm not sure if she really does have custody of him like she says, or if i have had custody of him all along and she has been lying to me this whole time. any feedback would be great.

You need to go to the courthouse and ask the court clerk if anything has ever been filed under your mother's name, your name, or your son's name.

Then, you really need to find an attorney, no matter what was filed. The problem is this, you willingly left your infant son in the care of your mother for 4 years. A court is going to have a hard time simply turning him over to you, mother or not. I know you said that you cannot afford an attorney, but this is something that you definately will NOT be able to do on your own.

I did not leave state for 4 years. I came back after almost 3 months. this whole time I've been back home (4 years), my mom has insisted she has custody over my son. thank you for your reply!

I did not leave state for 4 years. I came back after almost 3 months. this whole time I've been back home (4 years), my mom has insisted she has custody over my son. thank you for your reply!

Have you and your son been living with your mother the entire 4 years?

If you have, an attorney should be able to find out what papers were filed, and get custody back to you for little cost.

However, if you did not live with her the entire time, you will need to explain to the court why you did not take any action when you first came back. That, is definately going to take an attorney to do and it would be more expensive.

Either way, you should start by getting a consult, they are typically very low cost.

yes when i first came back i lived with her. i lived with her from the time he was born. i did not move out of her house until about 4 months after i came back home from out of state. i moved out because she wanted me out saying i was "costing her too much money" by living there. she has "allowed" him to stay a few nights with me here and there after i moved out... but as far as making any decisions for him and being able to move out of state, she does not allow that and says i cannot take him with me if i move out of state. which prohibits me from doing so since i'm not leaving him behind obviously. i have the potential of getting a very very good job out of state, but she is hindering me from doing that. and i'd like to get myself and my son away from her too!

i will look into a consultation and see how much that will cost.

If nothing is filed can the poster just take her child and leave as long as she has he birth certificate showing she is the mother??? Does she know the lawyer she faxed the papers name and can she contact that law office and ask for a copy of the document???

You need to go to the courthouse and ask the court clerk if anything has ever been filed under your mother's name, your name, or your son's name.

Then, you really need to find an attorney, no matter what was filed. The problem is this, you willingly left your infant son in the care of your mother for 4 years. A court is going to have a hard time simply turning him over to you, mother or not. I know you said that you cannot afford an attorney, but this is something that you definately will NOT be able to do on your own.

If nothing is filed can the poster just take her child and leave as long as she has he birth certificate showing she is the mother??? Does she know the lawyer she faxed the papers name and can she contact that law office and ask for a copy of the document???


i have contacted the lawyer and asked for a copy of the document that i signed and he refused to give them to me, saying that i had to get a lawyer first.

i have his birth certificate and i have his social security card.

yes when i first came back i lived with her. i lived with her from the time he was born. i did not move out of her house until about 4 months after i came back home from out of state. i moved out because she wanted me out saying i was "costing her too much money" by living there. she has "allowed" him to stay a few nights with me here and there after i moved out... but as far as making any decisions for him and being able to move out of state, she does not allow that and says i cannot take him with me if i move out of state. which prohibits me from doing so since i'm not leaving him behind obviously. i have the potential of getting a very very good job out of state, but she is hindering me from doing that. and i'd like to get myself and my son away from her too!

i will look into a consultation and see how much that will cost.

I'm sorry, but you really NEED to see an attorney. The bottom line is that you have not resided with your son for at least 3 years, and that is going to cause huge problems for you.

You should still have copies of what you said you faxed to the attorney. A fax machine doesn't keep the original documentation.

If you are not completely up front with us, we can't give you the advice you need.

You should still have copies of what you said you faxed to the attorney. A fax machine doesn't keep the original documentation.

If you are not completely up front with us, we can't give you the advice you need.

i have been up front. sorry you feel otherwise.

Do you still have the original paperwork that you faxed?

no i truely do not. this was over 4 years ago and i have no idea where i put it. i contacted my mom's lawyer again just the other day and requested the paperwork. he never returned my call but mysteriously my mom calls me and says that she has the paperwork that says she has custody of my son. he must have contacted her. but i still did not get a copy of what i signed. the paper that she gave me said that it is a certificate of guardianship. it says she went to probate court in 2005. i was never contacted about appearing in court. it doesn't specify what type of guardianship she has. it just says that the probate judge in our county has granted my mom guardianship of my son. it says that "said guardianship shall extend until terminated as provided by law, and the said (insert my mom's name) having duly qualifie as such guardian, is duly authorized to take upon hersef the performance of the duties of the trusts of such guardianship, according to law."
it also goes on to give the state law codes that this falls under. that is all that it says.

I think this link would be helpful to you in understanding what is needed for terminating guardianship. http://www.kidsvoicein.org/documents/Guardianship/pdf/1.pdf



Since you were a party to the proceedings, present or not as you signed legal papers granting guardianship, you should be able to get your own copies at the office of probate. Start there. It's pretty obvious your mother is going to fight you on this. You will need an attorney. You will also need to show that you have a stable home/lifestyle, and can provide for the child. Your mother may fear that you will cut her out of the child's life. Perhaps you can come to a formal agreement for visitation for her.

i appreciate your time and help. it was much needed. i am going to check out that link and also see about getting those papers from the court.