Becoming My Brother’s Legal Guardian? Tennessee?

Question by : Becoming my brother’s legal guardian? Tennessee?
I’m 20 years old and my brother is currently living with our father. He’s 10 and I feel that he doesn’t need to be in the circumstances he’s currently in while being at my dad’s. My dad is doing drugs and
oing drugs and I need to get him out of there. I have a job and I’m a college student. What are the odds of me bein able to become his legal guardian or even maybe temporary custody or something just until my dad straightens up?

Best answer:

Answer by Blues Einhander
If a parent has legal custody of a child, a court usually will not intervene and appoint a legal guardian. It is the practice of courts not to interfere in a child/parent relationship if the custody arrangement is in the child’s best interest. Only in the event that both parents can no longer care for the child will a legal guardianship be considered.

That being said, it’s not impossible for you to become your brother’s legal guardian. Under Tennessee law all that is required is that the guardian be over 18 years old and able to show proof of financial ability and the ability to house and feed the child. However, before you can become his guardian, you’ll need a court order allowing you to do so. Your first step is to call your county’s child protective services department and report any physical and/or mental abuse being perpetrated by your father. They’ll usually sent out a case worker to investigate relatively quickly because our government places a high priority on child endangerment. If they see that your brother is in an unsafe and/or abusive environment, they can potentially take him away and begin to build a case file against your father. Again, it’s a long process, but if you follow this first step and consult the CPS workers for more information, you’ll be on your way to eventually establishing a temporary guardianship over your brother.

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