Q: My girlfriend was arrested and I want to know what I need to so to get custody of kids.
We had a child together and have shared custody but she has her own son that I would like to get custody of and would like to know what I need to do. She was arrested and taken into custody.
A: There are three ways you can approach this. You can get her to sign a power of attorney (delegation of parental rights), which would allow you to take them to the doctor, sign them into school, etc. This would have no effect on the father's rights, however. If you aren't able to work with the kid's father, you would need to file a third-party Complaint for Custody or a Petition for Adoption. The power of attorney approach is easy. The Custody Complaint / Adoption is not. You would probably need legal assistance to decide whether you have the necessary evidence to support obtaining third-party custody or adoption and to prosecute either in court.
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