Things You'll Need:
- locate your family court
- copy of child's birth certificate
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Step 1
Filing for guardianship of a minor/ seeking custody of a child that is not yours.
The first thing you need to do is locate your local Probate and Family Court. You can easily do this by looking online or in the yellow pages. Go to this Court and ask for the forms you need to complete. You may also be able to do his by telephone Completing the forms might take some work. Ask the Court employees if the can help you or if the can refer you to a place where you can get help. Free legal services are offered in a variety of location. -
Step 2
After you complete the forms return them to the court and file them. There may be a cost. I will let you know that you will need the name and dates of birth of the minor child and parents along with their addresses. You may also need a copy of the birth certificate of the minor child, marriage certificate of the parties, Judgment of -paternity between the biological parents or a death certificate if one of the parents have passed away.
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Step 3
Once you have filed all of your paperwork you will get a Court date. You will have to inform the biological parents of the Court hearing and serve them a copy of the paperwork you filed. The Court can explain this process to you. If the minor child in the case you are seeking custody of is involved with you Children Services/ Social Service agency you will also have to serve and inform them of your request for guardianship and the date of the hearing. T hey may want to be present at your hearing to express their concerns for the child and possibly support your attempt for guardianship.
Comments
cinnamongirl said
on 7/21/2009 important info!
jull14 said
on 7/9/2009 Excellent article. To me it is very important to read articles at ehow specially yours, because I learned each day a new idea to make my life easier, thanks for writing this wonderful article. Keep up the good work.
wdk40 said
on 6/10/2009 This is info a lot of people need.