A Random Stranger Got Custody Of My Special Needs Brother? And My Parents Won’t Fight It.

Location: TEXAS

I am beyond confused right now. So without going into major detail. I have 4 brothers they all were adopted and all have special needs. My oldest brother was adopted from an orphanage in Bulgaria when he was 11. With how horribly they treated and malnourished him he was probably about the size of a 5 year old. So He had a lot of problems, trust issues, behavioral issues. And special needs. Non verbal, couldn’t walk severely autistic, He had brittle bone syndrome so he was often breaking bones and other things too I just can’t remember.

He was never violent, and even if he was he couldn’t hurt anybody. When he was 15 or 16 my parents decided they couldn’t handle him anymore and put him in a group home saying he would do much better there. And he did, he graduated highschool and got a job at the school as a janitor, he made his own food and had a roommate and was independent and smart.

The thing is my parents never took us to visit him, the second they dropped him off it was like he barely ever existed. They hardly talked about him. I have seen him maybe 4 times in the last 8 years.

fast forward, when I had just turned 18 my parents took me and my older sister who were the only ones over 18 at the time to the post office to a notary and they told us we needed to sign a paper saying we don’t want guardianship of our brother. I was freshly 18 and barely knew my brother so I signed no questions. So did my sister. They said he was legally an adult now and they were having problems getting guardianship back over him and that would help? I don’t know.

That was years ago and now what’s happening is this: my parents left. They took my other siblings and moved from Texas to Wyoming and left my brother here. I still live here too I got married and stayed in Texas. I know at one point they tried to move him up there and then said it was too expensive and they couldn’t get insurance so they sent him back to a group home here in Texas a few hours from me.

Then a few weeks ago they said “a random stranger has custody of your brother and he lives with them now” that’s pretty much all I got they told me that was the whole story. Then they said he doesn’t have a job anymore and they took his phone so he can’t contact us anymore. Today I was on the phone with my mom and asked if she had a lawyer to get custody back. How can a stranger just take my brother? I don’t understand and they won’t tell me anything. She said it just wasn’t worth paying for a lawyer because this happens all the time in Texas to special needs kids. I don’t understand. I would love to take custody of my brother and move him to a home close to me but I think I signed away any chance I had to help him years ago. How did this happen?? Is there anything I can do? I’m so confused and in the dark. I asked my parents to tell his new guardians I would love to visit my brother and take him to do things sometimes and all she said was “I’ll let them know” so I doubt she is. I don’t know what to do I feel awful. How could you abandon your son and not fight when a stranger takes him and cuts off communication with you? I don’t understand! I’m worried!!