Q: Can my sister give me joint custody of her 4yr old daughter who has never been legitimized and the father never visits?
She's always saying that if something were to ever happen to her she wants me to raise her. So is this something that can be done without his consent or knowledge.
He doesn't pay child support either. When he makes plans to see her he never shows and rarely ever returns her calls.
A: To have joint custody of the child, you would need to adopt the child. To do so, your sister would need to give notice to any potential parent of the minor child so that they may contest the adoption (failure to give such notice would make your adoption voidable by the potential parent) and then have a hearing in front of the judge regarding the adoption. Adoptions can be very time consuming and may not be ultimately what you desire. Rather, based on what you have described, it may be best to have your sister give you a guardianship over the minor child (and stating in the relevant order that said guardianship only becomes effective upon your sister's death or disability) or at least name you in her will as the party to have guardianship over the minor child in the event of her death or disability. As well, while this is somewhat tangential to your question, your sister likely should go ahead and legitimize the minor child with the biological father so that she can force him to pay her child support for their child. Please contact a family law attorney in your area to discuss this matter and you and your sister's rights/obligations further.
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