Seeking Legal Advice Regarding Custody Of My Nephew – Urgent

Hello everyone! I’m here seeking some guidance and legal advice about a difficult situation my family is facing with my nephew’s custody. We’re really worried about his well-being, and we’re hoping someone here can point us in the right direction.

A bit of background: My older brother and his girlfriend had a baby together. Unfortunately, their relationship didn’t work out, and they broke up. For the first year of his life, both my brother and his ex-girlfriend lived with us because neither of them had stable jobs or income.

However, when my nephew turned 1 year old, his mom (my brother’s ex-girlfriend) suddenly took him. She told us they were just going to stay with her parents for a while, but later we found out she had taken the baby far away without telling us. For almost a year, she kept the baby, and during that time, we were getting messages from her relatives saying that she was not taking proper care of him. Apparently, she was leaving him in different homes and not providing him the care and attention he needed.

We were worried and concerned for his safety. After begging her to let us have the baby back for his own good, she finally agreed. But the strange thing is, when the baby was returned to us, it wasn’t even the mother who brought him, it was her sister. They traveled without any proper supplies for him (no slippers/shoes, no milk, no diapers), and he was sick when they arrived. My parents, again, covered all the expenses for their travel because they didn’t have the means to do so.

Since then, my nephew has been living with us for almost two years, and we’ve been taking care of him completely (kumbaga since then kami na ‘yung legal guardian nung bata) But recently, in December 2024, the mother reached out again. She asked if she could borrow my nephew for a week so that they could spend Christmas together. We were hesitant, but we wanted to be fair and allow them some time together. She promised we could pick him up by December 28. Again, my parents even sent her money for the baby’s needs, including milk, because she said she had no money.

But after sending the money, she blocked my brother and started avoiding all contact with us. It feels like she’s playing games, moving from place to place without telling us where they are. We don’t know where she and my nephew are staying, and none of her relatives are willing to tell us. We are seriously concerned because she now has a new live-in partner, and we’ve been hearing concerning things about how she’s managing her life. We feel like they’re all working together to hide the baby’s location from us, and we just want to know if my nephew is safe. (Ps: He’s 3yrs old)

Our biggest concern is that my nephew’s mother has a history of neglecting him, and we’ve been his primary caregivers/legal guardian for the majority of his life. We want to protect him and ensure he’s in a safe and stable environment. Ideally, we would like him to stay with us permanently since we’ve been providing for all his needs, and we believe it’s in his best interest to be with us. We’re also worried that his mom isn’t in a position to take care of him properly because of her lifestyle, habits, and the fact that she has a new partner who we don’t know much about.

+++ To add to the situation, the stepfather of my brother’s ex-girlfriend just messaged us ngayon lang. saying that the baby is at their house but asking for money. We’re not sure if we can trust this information, and we’re worried that this might be another way to take advantage of us financially

We’re now at a loss for what to do next. We feel like we have rights, too, considering we’ve been the ones caring for my nephew for years and providing him with everything he needs. Is there anything we can do legally/what to get more information about where they are and to ensure his safety? Is there a way we can take steps towards gaining custody, especially given the history of neglect? If anyone has any legal advice or what or knows a lawyer who might be able to help us with this situation, we would greatly appreciate any guidance.

Thank you so much in advance for reading and for any advice you can offer. We just want what’s best for my nephew, and we’re deeply concerned for his well-being.