questions & answers

Question: My stepson just passed away at the age of 33. He had sole legal and physical custody of his children, ages 4 and 5. He was never married and the mother of the children has only supervised visits at his discretion. She is currently involved with DCS and has been for almost 3 years. We have filed for permanent custody. Because my husband had sole custody would he have had automatic custody of the kids? They have lived with us for 3 years with their father. We also had guardianship of the kids for a year before father retained sole custody

Answer: If you live in Maricopa County you may visit the Self Service Center on line at : https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/SuperiorCourt/JuvenileCourt/guardianship.asp regarding how to file for guardianship of the children. They have information, forms and filing fees listed. You may want to speak with an attorney to find out what your rights are and how to go about obtaining guardianship of the minors.