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  1. #1

    Default Can a Parent Be Charged With Parental Kidinapping After the Custodial Parent Dies

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: TEXAS

    On October 10, 2015 my mother gave my sisters father permission to take her out of Texas for two weeks to the state of Florida. After weeks of trying to get him so send her back he never responded. On November 19th 2015 my mother passed away from terminal cancer. Before she passed she left guardianship over my little sister to my older brother. We have tried to get our sister back but he has not responded. We recently found out that he fled to Puerto Rico with our little sister. We have tried to go to
    the cops to file kidnapping charges and a missing persons report but were told we need a lawyer. We can not afford one and have no idea what else to do. What can we do?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can a Parent Be Charged With Parental Kidinapping After the Custodial Parent Dies

    If the surviving non-custodial parent has not had his parental rights terminated, it is the normal consequence of the passing of the custodial parent that he becomes the sole custodian of the children.
    Quote Quoting ashleyjtorres
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    Before she passed she left guardianship over my little sister to my older brother.
    By that, do you mean that she executed a document indicating that she would like your older brother to become your sister's guardian, or do you mean that she and your older brother initiated court proceedings with proper notice to the father and had a court award guardianship to your older brother? I suspect it's the former and, although the designation of a preferred guardian can hold some sway with a court, it does not create guardianship in the absence of a court order nor does it trump the rights of the other natural parent. I suspect that the police were indicating that your older brother needs to commence a guardianship action before he can seek any legal redress for the child's absence from the state, and it's anything but a given that a court would make him guardian. Perhaps dad is an unfit parent, but you've not shared any facts with us that would relate to his fitness.

    According to the Texas Guardianship Association, "[P]rocedures [for appointment of a guardian] are too complicated for a lay person to undertake without a lawyer’s help, and most courts will not entertain guardianship applications filed by non-lawyers." Your older brother can check with the court where he would file a guardianship petition to see if they would let him attempt the process without a lawyer.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Can a Parent Be Charged With Parental Kidinapping After the Custodial Parent Dies

    He didn't have custody only visitation rights. He never paid child support and he moved out of state when my sister was only a few months old. We have witnesses to how horrible of a parent he was when he was here he smoked marijuana around my sister. When my mom would pick her up she was filthy as if she hadn't been given a bath. We also recently found out he left her with his mom in Puerto Rico and he went back to Florida.

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    Default Re: Can a Parent Be Charged With Parental Kidinapping After the Custodial Parent Dies

    You chose not to tell us about the nature of the 'guardianship', which I'll infer means that we're talking about a document executed by the mother but not by a court.

    If your older brother wants guardianship, he's going to have to file an action in court, serve the father, convince the court that jurisdiction remains in Texas, and convince the court that dad is an unfit parent -- not merely poor or undeserving, but unfit -- such that a third party should receive custody. He will need to check with the court to see if they'll require him to use a lawyer.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Can a Parent Be Charged With Parental Kidinapping After the Custodial Parent Dies

    Quote Quoting ashleyjtorres
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    He didn't have custody only visitation rights. He never paid child support and he moved out of state when my sister was only a few months old. We have witnesses to how horrible of a parent he was when he was here he smoked marijuana around my sister. When my mom would pick her up she was filthy as if she hadn't been given a bath. We also recently found out he left her with his mom in Puerto Rico and he went back to Florida.
    A) He is the child's father. He is the child's sole surviving parent. He has constitutional rights. You do not.
    B) Smoking marijuana in many states won't get the child removed, let alone prove unfitness.
    C) Mother let the child go with dad so he couldn't have been that horrible.
    D) As the child's only surviving parent, he has every right to leave the child with his mother if he so chooses.
    E) How old is said child and why can't she bathe herself?

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