need some guardianship advise

[chad23]

we have had this kid, 14 years old, living with us for the last month cause his folks do a shitty job of being parents. hell they dont even care that he has lived with us for this long. His dad would rather buy weed than fix the water heater.
anyways my wife and i are willing to let him stay here for good. Since he has been here his grades are up, he is in sports that we already paid for. plus he feels like he belong in a family now. needless to say he is a good kid and is at a crossroads that i was at when i was his age. i unfortunately took the wrong path and ended up in jail and, well lets say i made some poor decisions. i want to give him a chance to not walk the path i did.
So with that we want to help him and he wants the chance to keep doing good. I truly believe that if he doesn't get some help he will end up on drug and probably in jail. We are not looking to adopt him, but would like to become his legal guardians. Stuff like providing insurance, make medical decisions, take him on vacation. The typical family stuff. i will be contacting a lawyer when we get back next week but for the sake of conversation what choices do we have? Has anyone done this? is emancipation a good idea? any good lawyers we should know about? Any lawyers that will do this for FREE? i had to ask that one
PM me if you want to talk in private. other than that lets here your ideas and see if we can make my family one kid bigger. thanks

[TinkerinWstuff]

I have nothing of value to offer. Just wanted to say God Bless for taking an interest and being willing to open your home. Sounds like your heart is in the right place.

[Wrider]

I'm gonna second TinkerinWStuff here. You rock.

[BigE]

Amen to that!
Chad there is a lawyer my wife knows that helped a friend of hers adopt/ get custody of their nephew who is here in Loveland.
I'll PM you his name.

[chad23]

thanks you guys.

[Ol'Skool]

+1 God Bless. If the kid is related to you, you have a shot. If not, the odds are not good (near impossible) Teens provide a slew of challenges legaly.
What you can do, is continue to be supportive and show him/her there is a right way to live life. Kharma is real. Good luck.

[Sean]

Chad, I'll see if I can ask Angela later today/tonight. She doesn't work in this area but maybe she knows a good person from to talk to. If I get any info I'll pm ya.

Good on ya, buddy! :up:

[Dr. Joe Siphek]

Just like most others said, Chad...this is a special thing you are doing. It really touches me deep to hear this. I hope/pray that you'll be able to make something happen for this kid, this is the time of his life when decisions he makes can affect him for the rest of it. Having someone like you to help guide him, priceless! Keep up the good work bro!

[Matty]

Chad..... Good job.

Second if you can't find an attorney for free. I have an excellent one to recommend. She just helped my girl Katie with her daughter.

[CaneZach]

Chad, that is exceptional! I hope everything works out for you guys!!

[asp_125]

Chad you guys rock! Can't offer any information but wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

[chad23]

WOW!!!!thanks folks. i really didnt think i was doing anything special. just doing what anyone else would do, i think.

[Foolds]

Chad You are the man... If I can help please let me know, I would be willing to fundraiser this if I needed to help out!

[ghostrider_9]

No real advice to give, but I definitely add to the kudos to you and yours for stepping up and helping someone in need. Not everyone is willing to make sacrifices to help others. Even if the kid never takes the time to tell you, I will - Thank you for making a difference in a child's life!

[JonnyD]

WOW!!!!thanks folks. i really didnt think i was doing anything special. just doing what anyone else would do, i think.

You'd be surprised. One of my best friends is showing by example that his kid doesn't ever need a job, just a good woman to support him so he can be a kid forever. I'm doing everything I can to show kiddo that's not really how things work. You just do what you can, when you can. Best of luck!

[chad23]

jj thanks buddy but that will not be needed. we are lucky enough to make good money to cover all cost. but i do need help with a track bike and...... j/k

thanks a lot guys

[OUTLAWD]

this is awesome man...hopefully the legal shit doesn't get in the way of you helping the kid out though

[eklew]

WTF? When I asked you to adopt me you told me to pound sand! j/k man, you are doing a great thing. Let me know if he needs someone to hang around with at the same maturity level!!!!!

[Sarge]

I did this myself actually when I was about 16. It wasn't really that hard, the only thing required really is what is basically a "Power of Attorney" for guardianship. Granted, it was in California, but I doubt things are any more difficult in Colorado. I wouldn't pay for a Lawyer, just google it or even call up the County Clerk and ask what paperwork needs to be filed. It should only be one document that grants legal guardianship.

The only issue, and obviously I'm not familiar with your situation, is that my mother actually signed the thing. I don't know what level of cooperation you have with the kids parents, but if they aren't fighting you over this is should be pretty straightforward and something you can handle in an afternoon without a lawyer and just a quick trip to the County Clerk.

[McVaaahhh]

Sorry, no advice. Just want to say good on ya! :applause:

[bulldog]

Even if the legal stuff gets in the way, that should not stop you from being a mentor to this kid. Just you doing what you are is showing the kid that there are people that care about him even if his parents don't and that can make a huge difference in a kid's life.

One thing you may want to think about though is not to push the parents too hard in case they decide to fight you and win, then keep him away from your family. It would be a shame for him to lose your family entirely. Fine line I guess...sucks how it is so hard to do right nowadays.

Like everyone else has said good job; coming from someone that has seen a lot of jacked up kids because of messed up parents I can say this can make a huge difference to this kid!

[chad23]

sarge, i will look into that. i believe we can get the mother to sign it, but the dad is another story. he lives in the same area of town as us and really doesnt care the he stays. when i went to call him for permission to go to texas with us, and left a message with the details of what we were doing, he still has not called back. with that said i have no problem showing up to his house and asking him to sign a release form.

Bulldog, we would never stop sharing our lives with him. but you are right it is a fine line to cross. one of my biggest concerns is that they, his dad, try to sue me or press charges on my family( which means i go to jail, cause there is no way in hell i will let my wife go) for something we do. like taking him to texas for a vaction. we got a letter from his mom giving us permission to take him. It is a hard line to walk for sure, i just hope that by trying to do good for this kid doesnt mess stuff up.

[303Lurch]

I applaud what you are doing. I’ve adopted two boys that involved termination of parental rights by the county. Plus I’ve been through a divorce. You can do the filings by yourself. Colorado makes family law pretty easy. Well… as easy as it can get.

Kids over 12 or any adult can file for guardianship in Colorado. It has to go before a judge who will decide what’s best for the child. The Colorado court system has templates, forms and instructions for most all common family law issues. Go to http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Forms_List.cfm/Form_Type_ID/103 and look for form JDF 823. That has the instructions you are look for. Form JDF825 is the consent of parent. The first filing will cost you money. I am not sure about subsequent filings. You and your wife will need to pay for a CBI as well.


I am not an expert but from my time in family court it should go smoothly if both parents consent, you can financially and emotionally support the child, and your prior run in with the law does not present a danger to the child.

Good luck

[PsychoMike]

can i come too?

[~Barn~]

Looks like I'm a little late to the party Chad, but wow.... Well done, sir. :up:

[laspariahs]

Looks like I'm a little late to the party Chad, but wow.... Well done, sir. :up:

Amen to that.

[Ricky]

Like others, I am totally unsure about what to do. But holy hell Chad, you are awesome people to be doing what you are doing. Big fat thumbs up to you.