[carlychan]

Hello all, Short background then question. We have had FS since he was 4 months old (he is now 11 months). He is concurrent planning. BD is MIA. birthmom is mentally retarded and has not worked plan. His great grandma came around a month or so ago and wanted placement. The agency has allowed monthly visits but cancelled the homestudy because they were not going to consider placement with her (this is what SW told me). We are defacto parents now. I received a notice that birthmom lawyer is requesting placement with great-grandma. My question: Is this normal? Will the county's lawyer just tell the judge the reasons they found the great grandma is not suitable? BTW, the birthmom was in foster care (group home) for 10 years and the Grandma did not help her. Nor did she want placement at FS birth (she was asked). Thanks for everyone's great advice!

Carly

[mommy2fiveplus]

THe lawyer can file a motion for anything they want, it does not mean that they will win the motion. The placement agency will have to present compelling evidence that a homestudy was done and was found unsuitable. Then it is up to the judge to decide what is most appropriate for the child. If the agency never completed the homestudy on the g-grandma that does not look good for the agency, they are supposed to concider all family members and at LEAST complete the homestudy even if it is not favorable. They can always tell the courts what was negative about the homestudy but only if it was completed.

[greenrobin]

I can only think of one reason that they would cancel a homestudy. That would be if they found something that would negate any further investigation. Ask the agency about it.

I understand your concern about the lawyers. Our kids' g-pa has filed for custody of them. The lawyers are doing what their clients want--including our kids' GAL who is opposing TPR because the kids want to go home! The bottom line is that the judge makes the decisions. S/he will weigh all of the evidence to decide. And, believe me, the grandmother will be questioned about why she waited so long.

I'm unfamiliar with de facto parent status, so I don't know what that legally means. If you have standing before the court, you are a party to the case. As such, you might consider representation. In my state, fp have standing after having the child for a year. That puts you on equal relative status with any bios, meaning that the grandmother has no more right than you to the baby. An attorney could really help with clearing up any of your concerns.