Guardianship Question (of my 14 yr nephew)

[Just*Lindsay]

Hey Ladies!
 

I hope I am posting this in the correct forum.

I need some advice and I am hoping someone has been through something like this to give me some direction. To make a long story short, there is a possibility that my 14 year old nephew (my husbands sister's son) will be staying with us for high school. If this happens (things are still up in the air), he will be going to the high school I went to. I called the school tonight and I left a message for them, so I should be getting a return call this week I assume, providing that someone is there during the summer. Does anyone know what sort of info I would need to prove he is staying with us permanently to go to high school in California? He is from Arizona, his parents are and will stay in Arizona. Do I need to file legal guardianship forms? I doubt we will be adopting him as his parents will want to keep rights, so I am sort of confused. Can anyone help me? This is fairly new, so I am just trying to get educated here so when (or if) the time comes, my husband and I can start getting things in order especially since it is very last minute (in regards to starting high school, etc.)

We really hope this happens as he is a great kid, and we would love him here. This would give him the opportunity to have a normal childhood life (well, whats left of it).

Thank you!
Lindsay

[pumpkingirl71]

I am pretty sure this is a state by state issue.  In my state (MA), you would have to do very little to enroll him in school.  It is common around here to claim residency with an aunt or family member to get access to a school, so there may be scrutiny.  But since he will really be living with you, according to MA law, he would be fine.

But I would be worried about guardianship for other reasons.  The biggest would be if you were ever in a situation where your nephew needed emergency health care.

[MommyKelly]

We took guardianship of a relatives child. I went to their state, we went to court and I was granted temp custody. (that was 3 years ago) I am in Az and can ask our social worker here Mon if you would like.

[MrsH]

My niece and nephew came to live with us 3 years ago.  At the time, we just had a power of attorney, as my sister (their custodial parent) was in the army and it seemed like the easiest document to draft up.  We did enroll the kids in school and they received regular medical care here, as well as state insurance (insurance might be tricky for your nephew - check into it!).  Later, when we asked an attorney to help us navigate their adoptions, she was horrified about the lack of legal rights that the power of attorney provided.  She would have preferred for us to have either temporary or permanent guardianship.  I'd check out what that means in your state, but here in MA, temporary basically means you have to go back every so many months, while in permanent you don't.  It's not permanent forever, as the biological retain their rights and can petition the court at any time to resume guardianship.

Again, this is all very state specific so definitely try to get some information directly from your state, and the children's state.  It could be worth having a conversation with an attorney.  It's a ton of money but if it's just for an hour something, it might be really helpful. 

Good luck!