What will I have to do to get guardian/parenting rights of Elmo?

The legals concerning guardianship are difficult for minors. The DHS will probably assign the child to it’s father or the mother’s parents if the unspeakable should happen. I think your best bet would be coming to some understanding with the child’s father concerning your role as surrogate mother. If he is an eligible father then he will have most of the say in this matter. A will written by a minor is valid, but not taken seriously in more complicated legal matters (due to the “irresponsibility and naivete”) factor involved. The parents usually end up having the voice in most cases of complicated teen wills. You should talk to her parents and her child’s father about these things.

I’d say in all states concerning guardianship of a child…the biological parents, followed by the grandparents, followed by the biological grown siblings of the parents would be any courts preference to awarding guardianship/custody of a child. Sorry Jade (I know your heart is in the right place) but the fact of the matter is all these people I mentioned would have to say, they did not want to care for that child or are disqualified by the courts before anyone else would be considered. The fact that you are a friend and a minor is something you need to talk to legal council in your state about to get any real answers as to how to make that a possbility.

You will not be qualified either to adopt or to be assigned legal guardianship by a court until you turn 18. If you make an informal agreement with your friend and/or the baby’s father for you to take the child, any person - including, for example, your family or your friend’s family, or even a neighbor - can report to the Florida Department of Children and Families that your friend has abandoned her child (since you cannot be considered for legal guardianship), and the court could assign guardianship to the DCF, leading to foster care or adoption. Even after you are 18, all adoptions must be approved by a court, which will certainly consider your age and overall situation in deciding whether adoption by you would be in the child’s best interest.

In other words, Jade, there is no way for you and the child’s parents acting on your own to insure that the child will go to you, either now or after you turn 18. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen; just that there is nothing you can do to make sure it will happen.

If your parents are willing, the court could legally place the child with them, with the understanding between you and them that you will be responsible for its care. Then when you turn 18, with a year or two of successful “parenting” experience under your belt, you could apply to adopt. I think that’s your best bet. And my guess is that you probably couldn’t do this without substantial support from your parents anyway.

Please read the relevant portions of this Legal Guide for Pregnant Teens in Florida and share it with your friend:

http://funadvice.com/r/boda580clnj

I can’t tell you about the legal situation in your place. In my country you could most certainly not be a assigned guardian to a Baby before you are 18. Not even if you were related, like an aunt or an older sibling.

What you definitely can do at any age is… ask your friend whether you can be the godmother.

Please read the relevant portions of this Legal Guide for Pregnant Teens in Florida and share it with your friend:

http://funadvice.com/r/boda580clnj

(I’ve repeated this here so it doesn’t get lost and overlooked at the bottom of my long earlier comment.)