death of mother, grandparent custody question

[Juliahh]

I am the Director of a nonprofit children's mental health agency in the Orlando area. Our agency has been providing counseling to 2 boys (ages 13 and 16) for the past 6 months. The boys were living with their mother and maternal grandmother until their mother's death last Monday (March 2). The grandmother is seeking custody. The deceased mother was married to the 16-year-old's father for 2 years before divorcing. The father has been out of the child's life for approximately 3 years with no contact or child support. The 13-year-old's father has not been involved in his child's life for several years and has kept his whereabouts unknown. It is not known if he is alive or deceased. The child's mother hand-wrote a statement 2 years ago, indicating her wishes for her mother to obtain guardianship if she were to die. There is no will. The boys both state they want to live with their grandmother and would refuse to live with their respective fathers. What steps does grandma need to take in order to obtain guardianship? Thank you for any advisement that you can provide. Also, what other agencies/authorities does grandma need to contact? Social Security, etc? I am grateful for your help. Sincerely, J. Henry

[Attorney Howard Iken]

The grandma has several options. The easiest one is to call child protective services 1800-96-Abuse and have them do an investigation. The situation will most likely end up in "Dependency Court." This is the type of court where children are taken out of unfit homes and placed where appropriate. This is the only type of court that can give custody to a grandparent.

I also think this will be the most simple route to take.

Attorney Howard Iken
The Divorce Center of Florida