Q: How to go about getting temporary guardianship?
My niece is 15 and her and her mom are not getting along and my niece wants to come back and live with me. I live in NC nlw and her mom lives in Maryland. Her mom has no problem with her coming back to live with ms or giving me temporary guardianship. My brother (which is her father) is partially in her life, not on the birth certificate, doesn't come around and has no interest in getting her. What would her mom need to do to get this process on the roll.
A: biological parents have a superior right to the physical custody of the children however this right is not absolute. Mom could allow child to come live with you and execute a power of attorney and a health care power of attorney however many schools will not accept this to allow you to enroll the child. In that case, once child is here, you would need to file suit alleging both parents are unfit or have abrogated their rights by placing child with you.
A:
Since the child has been living in Maryland, Maryland has jurisdiction over her under the Uniform Child custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. You would need to consult with a family law attorney in Maryland and file there. I disagree with my colleague that you have to allege the parents are unfit. At least under NC law, you would merely need to allege that by allowing the child to live with you, her parents have acted in a manner inconsistent with their constitutional right to exclusively parent the child. Again, that is NC law. The law in Maryland could very well have a different standard.
The only way to file in NC is for the child to have lived here for 6 months, or if there is grounds for NC to exercise emergency jurisdiction under NCGS 50A-204. But even if you got an emergency order here, you would still have to file another action in Maryland.
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