Saint Paul, MN asked in Family Law for Arizona

Q: My daughter recently moved from MN to AZ (<8mos). She lost her 4 kids to Dept of Child Services due to alleged neglect.

I was at her house the day she lost the kids, I flew in that day only hours before. The smallest one (1yr) fell off of the couch and hit her head and became unresponsive. A CT scan showed nothing out of the ordinary but a tox screen came back positive for Amphetamine. Since then the oldest (12yrs) tested positive for Methamphetamine. As I was at the house at the time of the fall, I too am facing possibcriminal charges. I have since learned that my daughter has tried to get out of the charge by placing suspicion on me rather than herself although she was required to test both hair and urine, and I was never required to. My question is since there may be pending charges against one or both of us, will I be successful in attempting to request visitation by requesting grandparent's rights from the court? I have seen the kids once which apparently was in error on the part of the parent aide, and have flown down for every court date or meeting with child protection. Advice?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Mike Branum
Mike Branum
Answered
  • Saint George, UT
  • Licensed in Arizona

A: If you are going to remain unrepresented (not advisable, but not everyone can afford to hire an attorney), you may be able to speak directly with the Guardian ad Litem. If that is the case, I would recommend you attempt to do so. Depending on the likelihood of placement with the sperm donor or some other member of the family, you could be the only thing between those children and a long stint in foster care. Although the GAL will not be YOUR attorney, if it is in the best interest of the children to assist you, they may do so.

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