Going to court on Monday...

tl/dr: going to court on Monday to get guardianship of my best friends little brother and am freaking out a little bitHi, /r/parenting! This is my first post as I have only recently become a "parent."Some background: For the last six months or so, a good friend of mine (F24) has been talking to me about all of the horrible stuff happening to her little brother (13) at home. She has not lived at home for a couple of years, but even when she did, it was bad. Drug use, mental abuse (with a little physical, no sexual as far as I know), no food, sometimes no utilities.Four years ago her grandma passed away. Grandma was the one who kept them in school, kept them clothed, fed when there wasn't any food at home. My friend is old enough that she was already gone by the time her grandma passed. But her brother was not and life at their house has gotten worse and worse over the last few years.We are now suing her parents for guardianship of the brother. We went to court on January 5th and were granted temporary guardianship. Monday, February 5th, we're going for the big one.This kid has become someone I think of as my son. He lives with me (and will continue to do so if all goes well with court as his sister is moving out of the country), he calls me mom (though sometimes he's just being ornery with it), and at this point I don't know what I'll do if court doesn't go in our favor. And I don't know what will happen to him.We have a lawyer who so far seems competent when we're in court, but she's not good at easing fears or keeping in contact outside of the courtroom. She actually told us right before we into court last time that the judge was mad at her and she hoped that wasn't held against us.For anyone who has any advice, words of wisdom, or encouragement - I will gladly take it all. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2GJepLI