Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
My daughter has been living with my aunt for several years, I was okay with it because I had no income and couldn't take care of her.
But now she's being treated badly and my aunt won't let her call or see me.
She's not being physically abused but mentally, and my aunt is treated as God by the rest of my family.
I'm on disability and about to move out, so I want her to live with me then, but for now I just want to see my baby.
She's 11 and she's lived there for about 7 years but I have custody.
Thank you ahead of time.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Unfortunately, your aunt has had the child over 6 months so she has legal standing to go to court and ask the judge to grant her primary custody of this child.
You can go to your aunt's home with the police (or sheriff) and try to pick up the child. If she won't release the child, then you will have to hire an attorney to help you try to re-gain physical possession of this child.
The problem you face is that you voluntarily surrendered this child to the aunt 7 years ago. And you left her with the aunt for 7 years. A judge might not give you back the child since you would be disrupting the child's life. You would have to prove that moving the child would be in the child's best interests. There is no legal definition of "best interests" in the State of Texas so it is up to each judge to determine this.
You need to meet in person with a family law attorney and discuss your case.
Look on this website and on www.avvo.com for an attorney.
I hope this helps.
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