Can I Get a Custody Order to Protect My Son From His Abusive Father?

Can my 17-year-old son refuse to spend time with his father when he’s being verbally abusive? The father of my children has a history of being verbally and emotionally abusive. It has come to a boiling point with our 17-year-old son. My son has come to me in tears wanting to stay home because he can’t face another weekend of hearing his dad yelling at him. What can I do? Neither one of us has legal custody of our son, we’ve been able to co-parent outside of the court system up until now. Do we have any rights at all? Read More …

Can Social Services Take My Son Away From Me?

Three months ago, my ex-wife’s house was foreclosed on and now she lives with my son and her husband in a friend’s 4 bedroom home with 11 people in it. I would like our son to live with me since I have a decent place where he can stay. Currently. he sleeps on the floor of the living room. I tried to talk to her for weeks now, but she always says no. I even talked to my son who is 12-years-old about this, but he keeps on crying that his mom needs him. I only get him during the weekends. I am paying child support and was told by a friend that if Social Services discovers this, they would take my son away from us. What shall I do? Any advice? Thank you! Read More …

Should We Split Up Until the Custody Battle Ends?

My boyfriend’s ex-wife is taking him to court to try to gain custody of their two children. He is fighting this of course, but when we got the discovery from his ex-wife’s attorney, there were lies about my boyfriend’s relationship with me and that our being together is bad for the children. My question is, if we separate for the children’s sake, and the sake of this custody battle, would it be a problem if we get back together after the custody battle is over, especially if we win? We were told it would be best if we weren’t together for the case because all the things she says about us wouldn’t really apply anymore, but I’m worried if we get back together once this is over, and especially if we win the battle, that she could re-open the case because we are back together again and use that against him. Read More …

Do I Have a Good Case?

My ex wife and I had a temporary custody agreement drawn up at the beginning of the school year allowing our son to come live with me. We agreed that at the end of the school year, if our son was doing well in school and wanted to stay with me, we would have papers drawn up and he could do so. It’s May now and he has done well in school and has said he wants to stay with me, but she’s trying to make him come back home to her. My question is: In Alabama, if I take her to court, do I have a good case? I really don’t want to drag him through the stress if it’s not going to be worth it. I know the whole ordeal will be hard on him. Read More …

Am I Obligated to Meet Him?

Hi. I live in Florida and have been divorced for 3 years. My ex and I share custody of our two children. We have always had about 50/50 when it comes to visitation. Recently, he told me that he is planning on moving 3 hours away this summer and would like to have the children once a month, on the weekend. He wants me to drive half way to meet him for pick up and drop off. I have a few questions about the move. Am I obligated to meet him in the middle for drop offs and pick ups? During the summer, when he has the children for visitation, do I pay for camps he puts them in (as I get child support), or is he responsible? Can parents have shared custody when they live 3 hours apart or should the primary residential parent have sole custody? Lastly, if the children will now be living with me almost all of the time, is he able to claim one of the children on taxes, or do I claim them as they will be with me almost always? Read More …

Do I Have Any Options at This Point?

My daughter just turned 8-years-old and says she wants to live with me. She has been having problems with her Dad since he remarried a year ago. It apparently is a stressful environment for her because she says her Dad yells at her and there is a lot of arguments in the house between her Dad and his wife. Do I have any options at this point? I would love to have my daughter come live with me. Can we go to court based on this? Would the court listen to an 8-year-old or does she have to be older? Read More …

How Can I Start Visitation With My Children?

I gave temporary custody of my two children to my father. This occurred over seven years ago. I was supposed to see my children once a month for a half hour then all of a sudden nothing. My father just disappeared with my children. My rights were terminated by CPS and I could have had my children back that day, but my father for some reason decided that he could keep my kids for himself. First of all, how can I start visitation with my children? How do I get custody released back to me by a judge? How can I prosecute my father to the fullest extent of the law for denying me my children, kidnapping and what ever else I can do to him for what he’s done to me and my children? Read More …

Do I Have a Right as a Mother to Deny Any Requests His Father Makes to Come Get Him?

I have recently learned information about my 4-year-old son’s father that leads me to think that he is not providing a safe environment while my son is in his custody. We have no legal documents or custody orders of any kind. We all lived together along with my 8-year-old son from a previous relationship, until the summer of 2010. Unfortunately, I do have a history of prescription pill addiction which lead to several arrests. When I got out of jail my oldest son & I moved in with my parents so that I could put most of my focus on improving my way of living. During that time my 4-year-old was staying with his dad about 70% of the time. When his dad understood I was not interested in making things work with him he started to ignore my messages & it only got worse when he learned I was dating. A week or so ago I was advised by a mutual friend of ours that I may want to look into the ex’s ‘lifestyle.’ Which is when I found he had been posting personal ads on craigslist & inviting men he’d never met before to the house to engage in sexual activities while my son is there. I also found emails of his where he was asking a guy for money and said he would perform oral sex. I know I am not educated in the law enforcement field, but I’m almost certain that would be considered prostitution. After consulting with someone I was advised to make an appointment to talk to the sheriff which I did. After giving all the printed information to a detective he interviewed my son and my son didn’t give any indication of seeing any of this go on. I was told there was nothing that could be done. I was also told that it isn’t illegal to be a homosexual and was pretty much blown off after that. They did however go out and talk to the ex and told him what I had done. I then called DCF and told them and I got the same response. They said they couldn’t make a report just because he is having sex. My son has made several sexual comments and body movements. I am terrified that I am going to eventually have to let my son go stay with his dad. I am trying to do everything the right and legal way, but I’m not getting anywhere. I just don’t understand why this is not a concern to the authorities. The last thing I want is for DCF to barge in my life, but I would’t be doing my duty as a mother if I didn’t look into this. I can’t with 100% certainty that my son has been exposed to anything, BUT I can’t say with 100% that he hasn’t. I do apologize for writing so much, but I just don’t know what to do. I haven’t slept or ate or anything in a week. I have contacted and done all I could think of. I don’t believe I’m making something out of nothing, in my heart I know I’m doing exactly what any mother would do. So, I guess my question would be am I correct in thinking what he is doing is criminal? Do I have a right as a mother to deny any requests his father makes to come get him? Who else could I call to have this looked at other than the county Sheriffs office & the Department of Children & Family Services? Should I look into getting an attorney? Any information you could provide will be gratefully received. Read More …