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Question Details: What steps do I have to take if it is possible?
Filed under Family Law | 1364 View(s)
Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley
Technically, it’s possible, but you’ll need to read up on the law – and get some advice – to decide if that is what you want to do and if it will get the results you want.
You have asked about custody, which is now known as “day-to-day care” – and that’s what it means. It means who looks after the children each day. It seems that you already have day-to-day care of the children.
So you need to think about what it is that you want to achieve with what you have called temporary custody. If you are having difficulty because you have no status as a parent/guardian, you might be able to get the parents to write a note that you can use (at school, at the doctor, etc) to show that you are looking after the children.
It is also possible for the Family Court to appoint someone as a temporary "guardian". A guardian’s responsibilities to a child include helping to make important decisions in a child's life. Read more about guardianship here: www.justice.govt.nz
But the Court would want to hear what the parents had to say. Read more about the Family Court process here: www.communitylaw.org.nz
If you wish to pursue this avenue we strongly recommend speaking to a specialist family lawyer. You can search online for a family lawyer near you: www.familylaw.org.nz
Answered 6 Jun 2012. The IMPORTANT NOTICE below is part of this answer.
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