12 replies to this topic

[s4turn]

bit of a situation here with my Brother and his Kid...

my Brother let his son live with his grandparents since he was 7 in NZ
so he was going to school, sports etc etc, basically made his life here in NZ.

brother lives in Sydney, parents live in NZ.

hes now 15, and went over, only for a xmas holiday. Was suppose to come back, now hes been told he has to stay!!!
the biological mother, is gone, so shes not in the picture here.



can anything be done about this?
as my nephew hates the place, and wants to come back! hes been held against his own will.

[Mr. Drifter]

why are they keeping him there?

[s4turn]

tbh, we dont really know, my Brother wont ring anymore or contact anyone in NZ.
my brother has meet another woman, they have had 3 more kids over the years, and want my nephew from NZ to now stay with his Family.

problem is, my nephew was only there on holiday and wants to come back to NZ
and the other issue is my nephew is going through his hardest years at school, and had his life in NZ

[~Spyne~]

All advice given on MEA is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTUAL LEGAL ADVICE.

My advice, go see a proper lawyer.

[Mr. Drifter]

as above
I'm confused.. So his father/ your brother has held him? or the grandparents have held him?

Edit: to agree with what spyne said, I don't think any of us are lawyers (not to my knowledge) so asking us probably isn't going to solve it, all we can give is speculative advice.. but best to see a lawyer. only real way to find out for sure

Edited by Ben-Drifter, 30 January 2012 - 05:15 PM.

[s4turn]

Ben-Drifter, on 30 January 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

as above
I'm confused.. So his father/ your brother has held him? or the grandparents have held him?

Edit: to agree with what spyne said, I don't think any of us are lawyers (not to my knowledge) so asking us probably isn't going to solve it, all we can give is speculative advice.. but best to see a lawyer. only real way to find out for sure

lol you guys know about sound systems, so i thought you could help me with some legal advice!
just thought out of chance someone here has a little knowledge on this subject

ok, he was in NZ with my parents, his grandparents
my brother who now lives in Aus now has him and refuses to give him back, even though he doesnt even want to stay there

[Mr. Drifter]

My assumption would be, he's the father, so it's his decision what the child does, as it's under the age of 18. As I said, I don't know much about law, so I'm just guessing here..

[Frankston Car Audio]

No doubt Australian and New Zealand family law are different in some areas, so any advice given by non-legal professionals on MEA would be useless.

As suggested already, contact a local legal professional, for local legal advice.

Mark

[s4turn]

yeah my parents will be contacting their lawyer in regards to this.
im just seeing if there is anyone here that has some sort of knowledge on this subject

Edited by s4turn, 30 January 2012 - 06:07 PM.

[shizzle]

I would hazard a guess to say whoever is the legal gaurdian has the final say.
So if his grandparents were given legal gaurdinaship they would have the final say (again, my opinion).

That being said, even if the father was the legal gaurdian, I would still be seeking legal advice, as I am sure a court would rule in his favour if the evidence supported his wishes (grandparents were good caretakers, he want to finish schooling in the place he grew up in etc).

So yes, legal advice seems the go, but perhaps get all the facts before seeing a lawyer to stop any back and forth, as I am sure each visit would cost mucho $$

[Dan_Vx]

shizzle, on 30 January 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

I would hazard a guess to say whoever is the legal gaurdian has the final say.
So if his grandparents were given legal gaurdinaship they would have the final say (again, my opinion).

That being said, even if the father was the legal gaurdian, I would still be seeking legal advice, as I am sure a court would rule in his favour if the evidence supported his wishes (grandparents were good caretakers, he want to finish schooling in the place he grew up in etc).

So yes, legal advice seems the go, but perhaps get all the facts before seeing a lawyer to stop any back and forth, as I am sure each visit would cost mucho $$

From experience in my family that's pretty good advice.

[s4turn]

parents have called for legal help now

[icacha]

the way i would understand it is...

mum/dad are legal guardians until the age of 18 unless its documented elsewhere that both parents give up their rights to the kid
grandparents can sue for expenses for looking after the kid for 8 or whatever years even though they are blood relatives

here grandparents have the right to see their grandkids and parents of kids can be ordered by court to give grandparents visitation rights
but as many have suggested above, your parents would be better off seeking legal advice. the kid could also be an illegal immigrant here unless his father organised immigration paperwork for him to live here? doubt even kiwi's have the legal right to live here longer than a certain period without proper documentation.