Q: I have had my grandson for 1 year now with no contact from his mother and father. What can I file in nc for custody?
I cannot afford an attorney and I've reached out to the local DSS but due to a lawsuit that the mother has against them they will not help us. My grandson is 10 years old and lives every day in fear that his mother will show up to get him. He has told me he would kill himself if he ever had to go back to his mothers because of the abuse he has been put thru in the past. His mother and father are not together never married. His father is in and out of jail currently living with whoever he can . Neither parent works and has drug problems. I'm homeschooling my grandson at the moment because he is afraid to go to school that his mother may show up to get him. Tho he needs and wants to be in school. I cannot afford an attorney can I get help with this sad situation to get custody and give him the life he deserves? Hes been in my care for one year straight. Prior to this past year he has lived with me most of his life. I have acted as parent in school, doctors ect for 10 years.
A:
I'm very sorry to hear about your situation and sympathetic to what you are going through. That said, while you are clear that you can't afford an attorney, I would strongly advise you to at least pay for a consultation to discuss the complicated issues that go into filing a third-party custody complaint. You just aren't going to be able to get all the answers you need from this website, google, or anywhere else online.
I would suggest reviewing the following link, which does contain some useful information about filing for custody. I am not endorsing all the information contained in that link, but it is a good place to start.
https://www.lawhelpnc.org/files/CF76DC62-D528-7183-3117-39472C017826/attachments/92DD32A5-07E0-47EC-A181-0DB68BDC68CE/child-custody-packet-non-parent.pdf
Good luck.
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