Can I do anything to get custody of my nephew?

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Confused	They would look at the whole family before they make a decision. Me and my husband are trying to adopt our niece and before they would make a decision, they had to do to family members to see if anyone else wanted to adopt. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

gypsywinter	Sounds like the mother gave her aunt guardianship of her baby. You cannot adopt any baby...if parental rights have not been terminated, not even your nephew. The mother and your brother are still the legal parents of their child...even though your nephew is in the care of his maternal aunt. Why not talk to your brother and the mother of her child, and let them know you and your mom would like to visit the boy. If you and the grandmother are no threat and are only wanting to visit for purely loving reasons of your nephew...I should think your bro, mom, and aunt would have no problem. Hopefully the parents will drop the marijuana usage. As a side-note...once when reading at Cafe-Mom...I was shocked in discussions about pot usage, amongst married mothers with small children!!! Guess it's OK to smoke weed AFTER one gives birth, especially when married!! Guess...it's all about, once again...not that one is doing the deed...but rather in getting 'caught' doing the deed. Not much has changed, I guess. ETA: Sounds like your brother has a pretty serious drug problem going on. The mother of the child only tested positive for marijuana, nothing else? There's more to this story...that's for sure. Hope they both either get their act together for their child's sake...or the mother dumps your brother, gets her act together...so she can get her baby back, and/or at least go to live with her aunt and her baby, while she is getting her life together. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

cricketlady	The court will lean toward the aunts . Why uproot a child when the child is getting proper care and love. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mom of Marley	Was marijuana the only thing she tested positive for? If so, I find it hard to believe that things would actually come to having to have someone else adopt the baby. Usually all that is required is a parenting class and maybe another drug test in a month or so. How stupid. In some countries, marijuana is prescribed for pregnant women to help with the pain of pregnancy and labor. In fact, if you refer solely to studies and statistics, it is more dangerous to let your infant watch baby einstein videos than it is to smoke marijuana while pregnant. I think you should just stay out of it. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Kit	I'd be very interested to see those studies the first poster was citing - not that I don't believe it, but I'd really like to read them. On to the topic at hand - The FIRST thing you should do is contact your brother and his girlfriend. This should not be a hostile takeover of their son's life. If they honestly would rather you raise the child then you should pursue this, but you are not the authority here and you don't get to decide who is and is not a fit parent - although honestly it would seem that these two are in the running for parents of the year or anything. You might also want to spot your brother a paternity test to make sure the kid is his - if he's not really your nephew it might be in his best interests to stay with someone in his family. Secondly, you might want to find out who at social services (or whatever its called in Texas) has the case file on your nephew. A social worker has likely been assigned to this case already, and you should talk to that person about what is going on and what you can do to achieve your ends. If the aunt gains custody of the boy, you and your mother would not have the 'right' to visitation, in the sense that the courts would not stipulate such a thing, but there's nothing keeping you from getting in contact with the aunt and going to see your nephew, the sooner the better. If she lives near you you should get on that as soon as possible, maybe ask/offer to take the baby for a weekend or something. If the aunt is older, she may not interested in raising a newborn, especially if she has grown children of her own. The power of attorney is not the same as signing custody over, but it is important to get your name in the game soon. It is tricky, as you're dealing with a baby born in one state to parents in one state who is currently living with a guardian in another state...This is a slim chance, but maybe you could find a lawyer who has passed the bar in both states. Many lawyers take the bar in adjacent states or in states where the statutes are similar, but for states this far apart you might have to look for a lawyer who moved from Texas to NC or vice versa. I only recommend it because at least then you'd have someone who is familiar with both arenas. You should seek custody first, getting the boy from his great-aunt, before seeking to adopt. Seek out a local lawyer for a consultation, even if you don't use him/her for the actual proceedings. It probably sounds off, but if the only thing she popped positive for was weed, then she was probably (in her mind) taking care of herself and laying off the hard stuff while she was pregnant. I'm in no way defending it, but the way she sees it, she's probably done good. Sounds like both of these people are in a bad atmosphere but you should do right by them, non-judgmental, no matter what wastes they've made of their lives. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No