I am writing a story set in small-town Appalachia (Western NC if that’s relevant) in 1968. My MC is a thirteen year old girl who ends up at the center of a custody battle after her mom dies. She wants to live with her twenty-one year old brother, but an estranged aunt shows up to argue for custody, claiming she’s a better fit because the brother has a TBI/ learning disabilities from a childhood accident and struggles to find a job because of it.
For the purposes of my story the MC needs to be removed quickly from her brother’s home despite being happy there and be sent to live with her estranged aunt instead; after which point the brother appeals to get custody back, but I’m not sure how all this would play out in a legally realistic way.
How quickly might a court system rehome a child in a small rural town in the 1960s? Particularly if it’s against her wishes (since she’s thirteen and old enough to express her feelings to a judge?)
Any info about the timeframe in which all of this might happen, how involved the kid would be allowed to be in the custody battle, and just generally what that experience might be like in her eyes would hugely appreciated!