hey everybody. well the title pretty much gives it all away. my younger brother has a dual diagnosis of down syndrome and autism. He developed perfectly normal until the age of seven, which is when he really hit a wall. Lets just call my brother Ben(not really his name). Benny is now 17 years old, and has lived in a group residential setting for the past five years. For the majority of that time he was in a facility that was in a neighboring state, three hours away, and once a week, my mother and I would make the six hour round trip out there. Almost every time we visited, Ben had some scratch or cut or bruise on him that no one could explain. It was very difficult for my mother to leave my brother every week, but we could not provide the structure that they did. And unfortunately, since we were so far away, it was very hard for us to keep an eye on him, and make sure he was safe all the time.
Long Story short, after a few events that transpired, our state opened a brand-new facility 45 minutes away from home, and my brother is now there. This place seems to be a lot better, and there are quite a few less residents in this house. Now I will get to my question. My brother is approaching his 18th birthday soon, and at that time, he becomes a ward of the state. at this time, my family and I need to petition the court to become his legal guardians. That much I know already. That will not be a problem, as we are a very loving and caring family. The issue that might arrive is in regards to my father. Right now, my mother is Benny's custodial parent, but both my parents have joint custody. My father is an extremely unstable man, and has been losing it more and more each day. The issue is that my father is a prominent attorney at a government agency, and has used his influence and money in the courts to totally screw my mom out of any money when they got divorced.
This is my question: How can my mother and I get sole-guardianship of my brother? Without getting into any crazy details, there are numerous, numerous documented instances of my father doing really crazy, irrational things. Up until this point, my mother has not wanted to cause any problems with my father, but it has gotten to the point where he needs to be dealt with, and he needs to realize that there is something wrong with him.
Ok well I know that this is a lot, and I dont know if i should have put this is in security and legal issues, but i figured since this isnt anything weed related i would put it in here. Thanks for any input, and if a MOD thinks it should be moved by all means.
aod
Long Story short, after a few events that transpired, our state opened a brand-new facility 45 minutes away from home, and my brother is now there. This place seems to be a lot better, and there are quite a few less residents in this house. Now I will get to my question. My brother is approaching his 18th birthday soon, and at that time, he becomes a ward of the state. at this time, my family and I need to petition the court to become his legal guardians. That much I know already. That will not be a problem, as we are a very loving and caring family. The issue that might arrive is in regards to my father. Right now, my mother is Benny's custodial parent, but both my parents have joint custody. My father is an extremely unstable man, and has been losing it more and more each day. The issue is that my father is a prominent attorney at a government agency, and has used his influence and money in the courts to totally screw my mom out of any money when they got divorced.
This is my question: How can my mother and I get sole-guardianship of my brother? Without getting into any crazy details, there are numerous, numerous documented instances of my father doing really crazy, irrational things. Up until this point, my mother has not wanted to cause any problems with my father, but it has gotten to the point where he needs to be dealt with, and he needs to realize that there is something wrong with him.
Ok well I know that this is a lot, and I dont know if i should have put this is in security and legal issues, but i figured since this isnt anything weed related i would put it in here. Thanks for any input, and if a MOD thinks it should be moved by all means.
aod
