My little sister

[Sasha81]

I live in Wisconsin and I am 23 years old.  I am trying to get my little sister, who is 16, to be able to move up here, from Illinois, and finish her last two years of highschool.  The deal is that my mother is incompetent as a parent and is not able to support my sister.  

Currently my mother is living in Arkansas with my father and stepmother because she has no money or a job and was just recently released from a "mental" hospital, for lack of better words.  My father and stepmother are also unemployed and living in a two bedroom trailer which would leave no room for my sister anyway.

Both of my parents have agreed to relinquish custody of my sister because they know that she wants to be up here with me.  The problem is I do not know how to go about that.  Another problem I have is that I can not afford to pay an attorney for this.  

There is a close friend of mine that has offered to become my little sisters guardian and let her live with her.  I am not in a position to support my sister financially, but I am more then able to do so emotionally.

1.  Where do I start?

2.  Is it possible for someone who is not in my family to become legal guardian of my sister?

3.  Is it an option to just enroll her in school up here without having to change her guardianship?

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[socrateaser]

>1.  Where do I start?

You write the following letter to both of your parents:

Dear ____,

Enclosed is a short form that I need you to sign and send back to me so that I can have the legal authority to act as SISTERSNAME's guardian in case of an emergency. Please sign in and return itin the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope.

Thanks in advance.

Love always,

___________
YOURNAME

_________________________
(page break)

I, PARENTSFULLNAME, do hereby declare:

1. That if I am called upon, I can competently testify to the truth of the matters set forth herein of my own personal knowledge.

2. That I am the (Father/Mother) of LITTLESISTERSNAME.

3. That, at the present time, I am unable to adequately care for LITTLESISTERSNAME, and therefore, I hereby delegate to my daughter, YOURNAME, full authority to act in my behalf as guardian to, and in the best interests of, LITTLESISTSERSNAME.

4. That the above-stated delegation of authority includes my Power of Attorney in Fact to execute any document on my behalf, as necessary to protect LITTLESISTERSNAME's interests.

I declare, under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of WISCONSIN, that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated, this _____ day of ________, 2004,


By: _____________________________
PARENTSNAME
FATHER OF LITTLESISTERSNAME
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE, ZIP
CONTACTFONE

Subscribed and Sworn to, before me, this _____ day of ______, 2004


By: ________________
Notary Public
My commission expires: ___________

__________________________
(End document)

Now, we are leaving nothing to chance, which is why you will enclose a self addressed stamped envelope, and send the above to both parents.

You may also want to include a check for $20 each, so that they can pay for the notary, if they can't get it done for free. Obviously, it would be preferable that you did all of this in person, but if you can't, then you'll just have to take your chances.

Assuming that you get both forms back, you will then go find an attorney, who will help you and your sister petition the court to make you legal guardian of your sister. The forms will be your evidence (yes, we're gonna trick both of your parents).

You will almost certainly be awarded legal guardianship, and after that, you can file a motion for child support against both of your parents, should you wish to do so.

>
>2.  Is it possible for someone who is not in my family to
>become legal guardian of my sister?

Yes, but it's more likely that you can become guardian, than any non-relative.

>3.  Is it an option to just enroll her in school up here
>without having to change her guardianship?

Yes, but one of the parents must sign the enrollment forms, thus, unless you intend to forge their names, you will need Power of Attorney to sign in their absense.

Give it a shot, if it doesn't work, we can try something else.

[Sasha81]

1. So with these forms signed by both of my parents, that would give me the power to sign her enrollment forms?

2. Do you have any idea how much an attorney for something like this would cost?

3.  Would I be able to get a public defender to act on my behalf for this if I was not able to afford an attorney?

4.  If the non-relative was in a better financial situation would it be more likely that they could get guardianship than myself?

Thank you so much for all of this help.  I really appreciate it.  :)

[socrateaser]

>1. So with these forms signed by both of my parents, that
>would give me the power to sign her enrollment forms?

Yes.

>
>2. Do you have any idea how much an attorney for something
>like this would cost?

To petition for guardianship? Several thousand dollars, but, if you think that your parents have the ability to pay support, then you could get your money back fairly quickly. Otherwise, it's probably not worth doing, and the Power of Attorney would be all you really need.
>
>3.  Would I be able to get a public defender to act on my
>behalf for this if I was not able to afford an attorney?

No, public defenders are only appointed in criminal matters, and sometimes in termination of parental rights cases, neither of which apply to your facts.

>
>4.  If the non-relative was in a better financial situation
>would it be more likely that they could get guardianship than
>myself?

I believe that I already answered this question. In my opinion, a non-relative would need to prove a very strong relationship with your little sister, before they would be permitted guardianship of the child. Or, that person would need to be a professional therapist or a doctor or someone with extremely sound credentials. But, ya never know.

[Sasha81]

I live in Wisconsin and I am 23 years old.  I am trying to get my little sister, who is 16, to be able to move up here, from Illinois, and finish her last two years of highschool.  The deal is that my mother is incompetent as a parent and is not able to support my sister.  

Currently my mother is living in Arkansas with my father and stepmother because she has no money or a job and was just recently released from a "mental" hospital, for lack of better words.  My father and stepmother are also unemployed and living in a two bedroom trailer which would leave no room for my sister anyway.

Both of my parents have agreed to relinquish custody of my sister because they know that she wants to be up here with me.  The problem is I do not know how to go about that.  Another problem I have is that I can not afford to pay an attorney for this.  

There is a close friend of mine that has offered to become my little sisters guardian and let her live with her.  I am not in a position to support my sister financially, but I am more then able to do so emotionally.

1.  Where do I start?

2.  Is it possible for someone who is not in my family to become legal guardian of my sister?

3.  Is it an option to just enroll her in school up here without having to change her guardianship?

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[socrateaser]

>1.  Where do I start?

You write the following letter to both of your parents:

Dear ____,

Enclosed is a short form that I need you to sign and send back to me so that I can have the legal authority to act as SISTERSNAME's guardian in case of an emergency. Please sign in and return itin the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope.

Thanks in advance.

Love always,

___________
YOURNAME

_________________________
(page break)

I, PARENTSFULLNAME, do hereby declare:

1. That if I am called upon, I can competently testify to the truth of the matters set forth herein of my own personal knowledge.

2. That I am the (Father/Mother) of LITTLESISTERSNAME.

3. That, at the present time, I am unable to adequately care for LITTLESISTERSNAME, and therefore, I hereby delegate to my daughter, YOURNAME, full authority to act in my behalf as guardian to, and in the best interests of, LITTLESISTSERSNAME.

4. That the above-stated delegation of authority includes my Power of Attorney in Fact to execute any document on my behalf, as necessary to protect LITTLESISTERSNAME's interests.

I declare, under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of WISCONSIN, that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated, this _____ day of ________, 2004,


By: _____________________________
PARENTSNAME
FATHER OF LITTLESISTERSNAME
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE, ZIP
CONTACTFONE

Subscribed and Sworn to, before me, this _____ day of ______, 2004


By: ________________
Notary Public
My commission expires: ___________

__________________________
(End document)

Now, we are leaving nothing to chance, which is why you will enclose a self addressed stamped envelope, and send the above to both parents.

You may also want to include a check for $20 each, so that they can pay for the notary, if they can't get it done for free. Obviously, it would be preferable that you did all of this in person, but if you can't, then you'll just have to take your chances.

Assuming that you get both forms back, you will then go find an attorney, who will help you and your sister petition the court to make you legal guardian of your sister. The forms will be your evidence (yes, we're gonna trick both of your parents).

You will almost certainly be awarded legal guardianship, and after that, you can file a motion for child support against both of your parents, should you wish to do so.

>
>2.  Is it possible for someone who is not in my family to
>become legal guardian of my sister?

Yes, but it's more likely that you can become guardian, than any non-relative.

>3.  Is it an option to just enroll her in school up here
>without having to change her guardianship?

Yes, but one of the parents must sign the enrollment forms, thus, unless you intend to forge their names, you will need Power of Attorney to sign in their absense.

Give it a shot, if it doesn't work, we can try something else.

[Sasha81]

1. So with these forms signed by both of my parents, that would give me the power to sign her enrollment forms?

2. Do you have any idea how much an attorney for something like this would cost?

3.  Would I be able to get a public defender to act on my behalf for this if I was not able to afford an attorney?

4.  If the non-relative was in a better financial situation would it be more likely that they could get guardianship than myself?

Thank you so much for all of this help.  I really appreciate it.  :)

[socrateaser]

>1. So with these forms signed by both of my parents, that
>would give me the power to sign her enrollment forms?

Yes.

>
>2. Do you have any idea how much an attorney for something
>like this would cost?

To petition for guardianship? Several thousand dollars, but, if you think that your parents have the ability to pay support, then you could get your money back fairly quickly. Otherwise, it's probably not worth doing, and the Power of Attorney would be all you really need.
>
>3.  Would I be able to get a public defender to act on my
>behalf for this if I was not able to afford an attorney?

No, public defenders are only appointed in criminal matters, and sometimes in termination of parental rights cases, neither of which apply to your facts.

>
>4.  If the non-relative was in a better financial situation
>would it be more likely that they could get guardianship than
>myself?

I believe that I already answered this question. In my opinion, a non-relative would need to prove a very strong relationship with your little sister, before they would be permitted guardianship of the child. Or, that person would need to be a professional therapist or a doctor or someone with extremely sound credentials. But, ya never know.