Have you tried contacting Tommie in TX?

I'll get you her email address if you want. She is very active in TX fighting for the children.

Yes, Tommie Beck, I am a member of Texas Grands United yahoo group. I am just having a problem with the legal aspects. He being already on SSI has the option of free legal aid. I still working fulltime and making slightly more than legal aid allows and not enough for a lawyer, qualify for nothing . Even though for 6 years I have been sole supported for this child, and dud does not have to repay anything and has more rights. Also raising this ones half brother with no outside help other than medicaid and WIC till Nov. I get so discouraged trying every option available out here and still not coming up with anything useable. No local support groups and no one other than family to rant and rave with.

This is not a help, but I'm 54 and have the same problems here in WI. You are not alone. I hope you find the help you NEED!

I feel like the state of Texas cheated my grandsons and me out of services I should have been told were avaiable to us then. They never told me anything about the cases only that as long as the boys lived here and were safe they would close the case. Does any one know if they go back and review these cases ever? I think I need to find out why I was good enough to leave the boys with but not good enough to know what options were available. I am so confused again.

I am in PA & my situation is a little different. I got temporary custody because my daughter went to prison for 2-4 yrs & the father was never in his life, even though ordered to pay child support he has not paid a penny & the back support was dismissed because he said he couldnt find a job..I couldnt get any help either because they said I made too much money. I had to put my grandson in daycare & couldnt qualify for any help as a grandparent..It is frustrating. I worked 2 jobs while I raised my daughter as a single parent & the father of my grandson is not forced to help raise his child. Before my daughter went to prison in 1/09 she was raising her son by herself. I wish there was more help out there for grandparents raising their grandchildren because there seem to be more & more of us.

Ifarr, I am also in Texas and only know about medicaid insurance for the child as well as WIC if they are under the age of 5. If there is any other kind of aid, I sure wish someone would also tell me, I have searched and searched for 2 years now with no luck.

lfarr, have to been to court for any of this yet?

I mean, have you had the chance to tell your side to a judge? If you've been raising one child for six years and have documentation to present, I would think a judge would listen to you.

Also, have you hired a family lawyer for a consultation? We did, and we paid about $200 for an hour of her time. She outlined everything that we needed to do, what to say, what not to say, etc. She also said that if at any time we felt we had gotten in over our heads that we could ask the judge to stop the proceedings until we got a lawyer.

As it turned out, sadly IMHO, gaining custody was a formality. So many parents didn't want their kids that if ANYONE came forward with half a brain the judge banged her gavel and turned them over. SOOOOOOO sad.

Now, that is a good suggestion for us all, Sara. Do all lawyers do consultation, or just certain ones? I know mine had my first meeting with me, was going to gather all kinds of data, charged me 200 and told me if I wanted to continue he'd need half of the 4500 as a deposit. I didn't see any room for consultation there. All he did was ask ME questions for my 200. lol.

Why do I keep posting before I'm done!!!! *blush* They really need preview on here......

Anyway, can you please explain how you go about finding a lawyer who will do consulting for us all? I think that is just a GREAT avenue to explore!

Just ask around for a good family lawyer who specializes in child custody cases.

Some lawyers do a free first consultation, but even if you hire them for one hour it shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred dollars -- worth every penny!

I went and saw 2 different lawyers, both offered free consultations. We went with the 2nd lawyer because he had more experience specifically in family law. My husband is also a lawyer but he does corporate law.

The best way would be to see if any family members have anyone they would recommend OR you could look through the phone book and some say free consult in their ads. Also you can contact your states Bar Association and get a recommendation through them.

I called the State bar and the lawyer they recommended was the highest one yet. I was able to email a couple of ifrms and asked about the rates. I am willing to do my own legwork and research I just need a reputuable name beside mine on the forms. Praying for a favorbale response to my emails.

Well, in that case, I'd say be sure to find out ahead of time if they'll do it, because like I said, mine just charged me for 1 1/2 hours and all he did was get MY background. Didn't really tell me much of anything - just said I'm going to look into this and that and the other thing and then wanted the 2500 down before he'd get any answers or suggestions at all for me. So I'd say if you decide to go this route, question the lawyer first and be sure they are willing to consult! Speaking from experience...lol. It's just too easy to get burned!

But it does sound like an absolutely great idea if you are sure the lawyer will give you advice before you must pay a retainer. Maybe it's just the lawyers around here. They all will give a free consultation which only tells you what all they need to do for you, no advice, and then they won't do anything further unless you retain them, minimum usually is 2500. Do lawyers work differently other places? If so, maybe I'll have to look around further afield! :)

I think the trick is to be upfront with them by telling them you don't have enough money to actually hire them to do the work, but you have enough to hire them for an hour or so's worth of advice. That's pretty much what we did. The lawyer quoted us her hourly rate ($200) and that's what we paid. So she knew the purpose for our consultation and was ready with useful, practical answers.

Good advice, lfarr! Anything we can do to cut expenses is greatly appreciated by most of us! Thanks for all the great suggestions to my question re lawyers. I guess I should have started a new thread! :)