NEED HELP IN A BAD WAY

[dellay515]

Ok where do i start........ok i have a court date coming up soon but first let me say that i dont have guardianship of my daughter which whom this is about...... she is in the state of missori and the court case takes place  there......they are trying to appoint a successor guardian and co guardian.....my mother in law has the origanal guardianship...i signed over my rights when i wasnt thinking clearly...my husband and i are sepera ted and i dont mind them appointin another guardian afterall my daughter needs someone to help take care of her and i cant right now afford to do it myself...anyways she is going to b 11 the 15th of may 2008 and i need to know if  there is any way that i can get the court to MANDATE vistaion with her...you see no one on my husbands side of the family likes me and therefore they wont even let me see or talk to her and i am getting tired of the stuff you know....i jus t want the ability to see her so that she can get to know my side of the family as wel as get to know me better...can anyone please help me know what the laws are here in missouri for trying to see her and get visitation with her and i dont even care if it has to b supervised for right now just as long as i can see her.....please help me....

[Giggles]

Did you sign off all LEGAL rights or just give up custody?  If you signed off all legal rights then you probably don't have a leg to stand on, however, if you gave up custody....that is a whole different story and you possibly could petition for some sort of visitation.

What exactly does your paperwork state?

[olanna]

Or did you just sign over custody?  If you signed off parental rights, you won't be able to undo that. I seriously doubt that is what you signed, as most courts don't favor that particular action.

If you signed over custody and want some visitation I am sure that is doable. But there are things you need to consider in requesting this.

1. How long has it been since you had a visit with your child?
2. Do you speak on the phone with your child? (If you can't get to your child, call when you know they aren't home and call from a cell phone that will show all the attempts made. Leave messages for her).
3. Are you in contact with the school your child attends, and actively pushing for (and receiving) report cards, progress reports and having phone conversations with her teachers? (Most schools are funny about giving the information, even though by federal they must.  Have things handy to prove who you are, like a copy of her birth certificate and social security number you can scan and email to them or fax over).
4. Do you remember important dates in your child's life? (Send gifts to her last known address.  Be sure to send them with a tracking number so you have proof they were delievered).
5. What is your daughter's favorite color?
6. Do you know her friend's name? ( you can learn so much by a simple phone call with teacher"s).
7. Who is her physician and have you talked with them about her regular health check ups? (same thing applies here for proof as for proof for the school).
8. Who is her dentist? When was her last check up?(and again here. Get the birth cert and social # ready).

If you can answer those questions with all the right answers, more than likely you and your daughter will be reunited with regular visitation. If you can't, look to those questions as a good starting point and arm yourself before you get to court.

It won't matter one bit to a judge that you say you can't in touch with your child because his family doesn't like you. But it will matter a lot if you have made a responsible effort to be active in your child's life and have proof of that for the court.