Q: can my step dad get custody of me
my mother is on the run from the cops, my dad recently just got out of prison and i currently live with him. he has hit me and put his hands on me. he has mentally and physically abused me. i have no where else to go other than my step-dads. i lived with him for a year, although my mother is not with him anymore they are not divorced he has custody of two of my siblings one of which is not biologically his.
A:
Yes, but go get a lawyer and then also talk with that lawyer about getting a restraining order on your father if he is physically abusing you. There are groups that might help you too if you google for domestic violence groups near you.
Regarding your question: "Parental rights have long been recognized by the common law and by constitutional law. In the twentieth century, persons with a legitimate interest (grandparents, stepparents, etc.) received legislative standing to seek custody of or visitation with children not their own under certain circumstances. As the conflicts between parents and third party claimants have played out over the last thirty years, Virginia has developed a detailed, but separate, jurisprudence regarding third party custody and third party visitation."
https://www.raynorlawoffice.com/files/third_party_custody_in_va_article.pdf
Why not give the author of that article a call and see what they say?
By: Steven L. Raynor
Raynor Law Office, P.C.
1230 Cedars Court Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-4801
telephone: (434) 220-6066 facsimile: (434) 220-6067
e-mail: steve@raynorlawoffice.com http://www.raynorlawoffice.com
http://www.vadivorcelaw.net
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