Mother died and Father is in Prison

Hello cdn,

call the police and social services. They surely are able to tell you the whereabouts of your niece. Good luck!

If you really have legal guardianship then the people to go to are the police and child welfare agencies.

Be sure you have the childs best interest at heart. She may well be living a full and happy life. If that is the case you can apply your guardianship from a distance and still fulfill your duty of care.

The police can't help me, unless I have an address to find her at.

I have notarized papers from my brother stating that he has given me his rights until he gets out of prison and is stable and on his feet. The Sherriffs department in the town my niece lives in said that I have to have and address to give them to pick her up from. The best interest of the child has been thought about. I do not plan on just picking her up and that be the end of it. She has already been traumatized, and that would just kill her. I want to spead with the family and have my niece gradually be transfered to my house. Over a period of months. I have already spoken to a counselor about helping her cope with the loss and changes that are about to take place and they said as soon as I can get her they will start seeing her. I also have a room set up for her with pictures of her and her mom in it. I am doing everything in my power to not hurt her more than she already is, but the family will not return any messages on myspace with my number or call me back. I am working diligently to speak with them. My niece's mother was a friend too, but her family has always hated mine and will stop at nothing to not let me see or hear from my niece.

Im sure they can help. Perhaps they have good reasons for not assisting.
Press them a little.
File a missing persons report.

If you have reason to believe that your neice is resident in a town 4 hours away, it is reasonable to assume she is enrolled in a school there.

You could visit all the schools, show your guardianship papers and explain the situation or suggest to police that they do the same.

Here is a suggestion if the child is of school age, show up at the local school system headquarter with the paperwork proving that you are this child legal guardian and explain that you need to get in touch with the mother side of the family who is currently taking care of her to discuss the situation.

Tell them you would prefer to take care of this matter quietly without getting the social services or the police involve for the benefit of the child and then relax as they call in their lawyers.

Either they will just pass the ball to the local social service/police or after checking your claims out give you the information you are more then entitle to.

At least you can then inform the mother side of the family that you did try to do this in a low key manner.

Dadpad great minds think alike it would seem as I did not see your posting until after I had posted the first version.

She is only 4 years old, and will not start school until the 10-11 school year. The police cannot go looking for a child, if they don't know where to start. I have tried the attorny general, but they only do child support, according to them. I have tried lawyers, but I don't have the money to pay for advice and they just keep telling me that I need to hire a lawyer. I have spoken to the prison warden and the chaplan and the legal library supervisor (all at the prison) and they have told my that all I need is a paper from my brother, notarized, stating he is giving me his rights. My niece's mom was remarried and the man does love my niece as his own. I understand that, but I also know that he will stop at nothing to keep her. I cannot even speak to a judge, which is my next step, til monday morning. I am truly afraid that he will just take off with my niece and I feel like I can do nothing to stop it.

Well there you go.
If that is really the case then i suggest you stop interfering. be happy that your neice has a loving family.
Of course its hard for me to judge being the internet and I dont have all the information but it seems to me you are interfering and that is probably not what is required for the childs best interests at this point.

and fools never differ Bill.

It is NOT in the child's "best interest" for her to not know her DAD'S side of the family for the rest of her life. It is in no person's best interest to not know poeple who love them and would do anything for them. My brother may have made some stupid mistakes, but that should not keep them from knowing each other. My niece knows that I love her, and I have never said or acted otherwise. It is also not in her best interest to forget the family she has, which is what will happen. And you are right, you can't see from the internet. Like I said, her mother and I were friends, but her whole family hated mine because of my brother's mistakes... Mistakes I did not make. I visited with my niece every chance I could and her family couldn't stand that. Now tell me how it would be in her best interest to never see me again!!

I don't really understand the facts here, who has legal custody of this child (the father in prison can't simply sign a document notarized or not giving legal rights to a child, a chikl is not a car) whoever has physical custody of the child may or may not have legal custody, only a judge/court can make that determination. If the father (your brother? in prison) has not had his parental rights terminated then he should have access to an attorney who could bring to court this issue for legal determination. child welfare/social services can do the same under federal "permanency planning" law. there is just not enough factual information here for anyone to offer advice.

Small town and a step father who is more then likely known the police as one of it citizens and therefore they might not wish to be helpful.

Now if you only wish to check on this child welfare I disagree with Dadpad then as the agent of the father you have more then enough rights to do so and it can not be all that hard to find someone in a small town as you got to had the second husband name at least.

Get all the names of all the people of the mother side of the family and all the information your brother can give you on the mother new husband then used the local phone book. When talking to them start out by declaring all you wish to do is check on this child welfare and that you are not a threat to the child being in a stable home with the step father.

If you are such a threat shame on you and shame on your brother.

I think you may know something about what I am trying to find out. When a parent dies and the other is in prison, the law permits the parent is prison to sign temporary guargianship of a child over to a responsible adult. I have the papers needed. I am not trying to go and take my niece, but I am trying to fight my rights as having his parental rights to be able to see my niece. I am trying to find out what next step I need to take. I have told my brother to talk to a lawyer. I have also began trying to talk to lawyers myself. I am going to speak to a judge on Monday. I am trying to figure out how I can make sure my niece is not taken out of state (or whatever) and insure that we still are in her life until my brother is out of prison. Hewill be released on May 3 of this year.

As I said before, I am not doing this with any other intentions. What I am trying to do is start a good level of communication between our families and have an understanding that even though she is gone now, I want everyone to have time with my niece. I don't want my brother to get out and have to fight them tooth and nail over custody he will eventually get, and be so mad by the end that he doesn't want my niece to have contact with them. If we already have this line of communication open when he gets out, my niece can gradually be transferred to residing with me (my brother is coming here when release) and still able to visit that side of the family without arguments and fights always brewing. I am worried about my niece. I cannot start this communication without having them answer my messages or calls or anything else. They will not tell me where she is, who she is with, they didn't even inform us that her mother was dying. When we did find out (off of myspace) and they realised that we knew, they began trying to make up stories. They told me she was in complete other cities. I did find out what hospital and I was trying to go to see her, but she passed away within the hour. I have compassion for the family, but I also know what they are capable of and am very scared of them hiding her from us indefinately.

There seem to be layers on layer to this situation dyslexia however at a guess no court had taken note of the fact that the mother had pass away as far as the child is concern. Assuming that the father rights had not been taken away from him she as his agent is in a strong legal/moral position to at least see this child.

Now sadly there now seem to be bad blood between her side of the family and the mother/husband side and that is not clearly in the best interest of the child.

Perhaps it would be better to get social service involved to act as a good faith mediator and to get some legal foundation under this child status.

She had a duty to try to place her negative feelings toward the people who are taking care of her brother child behind her but I do not see why she should not see this child can you dydlexia?

That is what I am trying to explain. I have my brother's court papers over her and he and her are "Joint Managing Conservators of the child". Exact;y how the papers have it. He sent these to me when he sent me the notarized paper stating that he is giving me temporary guardianship of his daughter until he is realesed from prison, stable and able to provide for her. I love my brother, but I don't take these duties lightly. I will not let her go to him, unless he is stable and able to provide a safe and happy home for her. I also will not let her be yanked from her mother's family. I want nothing but the best for her, and will do everything in my power to insure that's what she gets.

A parent always have a very strong case for custody however I would not count on it being a given for him winning such a battle if it come to it father or not once he leave prison.

Depend on too many other factors such as the moral character or lack of same the court judge your brother to have along with the best interests of the child.

Everyone would gain if the bad blood was put aside and that would help show you brother in a better light if it can be shown that you and he both act with great concern to the child welfare.

You need to open communications with these people in as non-threatening manner as possible and even suggest mediation.

Here is a suggestion when your brother ex-wife pass away the death notice would likely had listed her church and you could therefore try to go to the pastor of that church and see if he would help out.

CDN it is a shame that there is such bad blood here but from your statements you do have some contact with them and perhaps if you can keep your cool you can just tell them the same thing you had posted here in a very calm manner.

You do not wish to interfere with the child living arrangements but you must be able to see her and if you are not allow to do that you will need to file a missing person report and perhaps even sadder a charge of interfering with child custody against her husband.

Give them a time frame and then if all else fail file such paperwork with the local DA as I can not see how the DA could at that point could refused to get involved.

But the above is the very last thing I would do however.

Side note keep detail records of your phone conversations over this matter. Times and dates and who and what was said. Write it down at once.

In my state recording such conversation without both parties agreeing is illegal so I can not suggest you also record such unless you check first concerning your state laws.

Speaking of the law please take note all the above suggestions is from someone who is not a lawyer and have no training in the law, it just my layman opinions.

There been a few people on this system who had claimed to be lawyers and perhaps one of them will add to the laymen opinions that had been express here to date.

Good luck to all of you in any case.