[knightowl26]

What are my chances. This is a wierd and very unique circumstance. My brother and his ex-girlfriend gave up their son to my mother and stepfather. Meaning legally he would be my brother/nephew. At the time all this took place he was doing good and growing in a half way decent environment. In 2001 my mother took off with him to Missouri and left my stepfather. So to get him back to his family, we, me, my brother and stepdad took her to court in Indiana. The outcome was in favor of my stepfather, meaning he got custody of the child. Since then, presently the two, my mother and once "stepfather" have been fighting for the child. My question is do I have any rights to fight for custody as an uncle/brother to get him out of that situation? Because the child is very mentally abused and doesnt need to be there. The only catch is that they live in Indiana and I now live in Tennessee. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I know it is diffucult to understand. but please help. Thank you,
Knightowl

[tdhoward755]

Knightowl,

I'm so sorry to hear about the situation your mother and step-dad have put your nephew into. Have your parents considered a counselor/mediator? Someone trained to help them understand the harm they are doing to your nephew, and how to heal what's already been done and to avoid inflicting further pain on him? Setting up some kind of intervention is not unheard of... Maybe if they understood what this turmoil is doing to him, they might put aside their issues and figure out how to put his needs first.

If you are looking at trying to adopt him, I'd suggest talking to a counselor who deals in adoption issues to seek advice about how it would be to have yet another custody suit going on (will it add to the turmoil? I really don't know...)

In the meantime, I suggest that if you live near him you might take him on weekends for some low-stress fun. You can call him during the week to reassure him that he's loved... And you can continue to seek advice from this site and from some professionals. Good luck with this!

tdh