want to potition the court

[genefussell]

my daughter moved in with me and my wife a few months ago because her mother took off and left both my daughter and her big brother with there grandmother....the grandmother then called and asked me and my wife if we would take her in cause she was health wise unable to care for her properly.....we agreed to take her in......before we went to get her she was not doing well in school and could not hardly write her name.....she was acting up at school and becoming violent and mouthy and cussing....after we got her....she makes A's in school and is very well mannered at all times....she does act violently at all.....her mother has no stable home what so ever....she has several warrents out for her arrest and does drugs acaisionally.......my daughter does not want to live with her and her abusive boyfriends.......we had to go pick my daughters mother up here resently from one of her boyfriends house after he beat up on her......we allowed her to stay in our home for 1 week....she did nothing to help with my daughter at all....my wife fed her, bathed her,got up and off to school......all my daughters mother did was eat mess up and sleep........so now she is in a custody battle with her sons dad and wants to take my daughter from our home and uproot her yet again and mover somewhere else......so i need to know what i need to do to potision the court for custody before she can ruin my daughters life the way she ruined her own....please help me and tell me what i can do asap

[lmartin8692]

If there has never been custody ordered then it is status quo: This means that if the child lives with you she cannot remove her without you permission anymore than if the child lived with her you couldn't remove her.  I would file a motion for joint custody with you as primary custodial parent .  The judge won't uproot a child just because the other parent just decided one day that she wants her back.