How do I go about regaining custody of my 12y/o child who is currently living with her custodial father?
408371
First of all, and unfortunately or fortunately for you, because your child is 12 they can decide where they want to live. At least in the state of Washington they can. It may be different where you live. Unless there are circumstances where there is abuse or neglect, though, you may have a hard time depending on where you are and what the laws are.\nThe first thing I would do is to contact your local Department of Social & Health Services and speak with someone there about what your rights are and can be done or not done for you based on your income. It's quite possible that if your income is lower they could provide you with financial help. However, you should be aware that if you're in need of financial help and your ex-husband is not, it's going to make your situation harder as he can financially support her and you can't. \nCall those people though, it's a start and if nothing else they can lead you in the right direction.\nGood Luck!
731439
I'm sure it depends on the state you live in, take Okla. If the noncustodial parent hasn't paid support for 12 out of 14 mos. it's pretty easy. I'd check with a lawyer, you'll need one anyway and most will give you a free consult.
36642
How painful!  Have your attorney push for a way to get him into parenting classes before he even gets a minute alone with your daughter.  Make the hoops he needs to jump through cost him something.  He's not been a parent and it stands to reason that he should learn something of the skills required before he takes your child even one day.  At one time my husband and I were discussing divorce and custody and he told me he was going to fight for custody and I told him to be ready to pee in a jar ***** which backed him RIGHT off.  Have a talk with your daughter and let her know that she can tell you anything at anytime, even if her father tells her to keep it a secret or he's threatened her.  Let her know that she can always tell you anything and that the only reason grown-ups make little kids keep secrets is because the grown-up is doing something he's not supposed to.  That way, if he does do the unthinkable, you stand a much better chance of knowing soon and getting help immediately.  Just something to keep in mind.  Also, he will not now or ever get full custody of your child as long as your own nose stays clean.  The courts reeeaaaaalllllly see no reason to remove a child from their primary custodial parent unless there is some darn good reason.  It should be mentioned that he's chosen not to have any emotional attachment to this child by choice and that though he is her father, he is a stranger to her too.  Push for supervised visitation for a term of not less than 8 weekly visits.  Really.  It can be pointed out that it is not just in the child's best interests but also in the father's.  Talk to your attorney about a guardian ad lidum.  If the father is not current in child support, see if you can defray his visitations until he IS current.  Your attorney should know allllll this and should be able to fight hard on your child's behalf.
761277
i so feel for you, best bet is to go back to the courts and ask for a child welfare assessment..........that way they will talk to you, talk to him [the father] and talk to the child as best as he can.........at the best they might even come and observe a hand over from you to the dad............state that it is NOT your intention to keep them apart but the emotional trauma you have to deal with taking him and then the aftermath of the child being so upset is really not worth it.................just a question but WHY was they supervised at first and who decided that should change ???
412359
Unless a court has given you some sort of shared custody agreement, which you would know about, the custodial parent has all the rights.\nSince you are paying support, you can go to court to ask for visitation, but the court will not be interested in what is owed to you, but rather, what you can offer to the child.
117705
You need to speak to a family law lawyer. The site below can help you find one in your area.
826515
Get a lawyer!!! Most states have legal services for low income families...so if you can't afford one then look in your local yellow pages for the closest legal aid office....if you have complied with everything and hopefully are no longer with the father...you should be able to get them back...the longer you wait to get an attorney the harder it will be for you to get them back.
836970
Not the proper way of handling the situation , try divorce first as you may be open to a federal charge for taking the kid across state lines . The father has rights also in spite of your differences.
236671
Start with a call to an attorney that practices in Family law, you might be able to get free representation through legal aide, check the community pages of your local phone book. You could also call your local department of human Services, they might be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction... Remember though, if your parents lose custody, it doesn't mean you will automatically get it...you will have to be proved as fit and capable of taking care of children and be financially stable enough to provide for them. They could end up in foster care or another adult in the family that meets the requirements could take them.
897240
Your first phone call should be to a domestic violence agency. They can assist you by offering you counseling, safety planning, and even more importantly they can assist you in refiling for custody of your child. They can help you through all the steps of filing for a custody modification. And they can assist you through the whole court process. They can file as an emergency if you fear for your safety and the safety of your child. \n\nThey can also assist you in finding housing, getting safe shelter, apply for an order of protection, and getting your life in order.\n\nGather your police reports and all important paperwork and make the phone call today!\n\nFor more information on resources available to you in Michigan...check out this website:\n\nhttp://www.mcadsv.org/mrcdsv
341411
A lawyer cannot physically keep children anywhere.  If you had a custody agreement that required the father to stay in the state, then you should contact the local Sheriff's Office and they will act accordingly.  \n\nDid the father take the child out of state to live or visit?  If to live, again, contact your sheriff.  He will have much more power to have the father bring the children back.  All the attorney could do is go to court and have the court tell the sheriff to find him.  This way, you cut out a step and get your children back quicker.  Good luck.
1101368
Just go to courthouse and file for child custody. Now there are two types of custody: Physical and Legal. You need to have at least joint legal custody, which means you can make legal decisions for your child. Now whoever has the physical custody keeps the child. And the other parent earns visitations rights. I do not recommend joint physical custody.\n\nNow when it comes to paternity test, you can request it during the custody case. \n\nChild support is another issue. Once you have the paternity test results and have legal custody of your child, your ex needs to take you to court for child support if she has the physical custody.\n\nYou don't even need a lawyer for any of this. If it gets to point where she claims you are an unfit parent or whatever than you can consider to get one. Otherwise don't even waste your money.\n\nPlus whoever files for custody first has the upper hand. Well hope this helps. Good Luck!!!!
244678
He should check with a lawyer about joint custody. The support would probably be 50/50 and the custdy would be 50/50. I think she could move either way. I think she might be pre-preparing for supporr court. More time = more money? Either way she'll get the money (arears) and the chidren will suffer in the meantime. If the get along well they could work it out (legally) in the form of a contract. He could use the threat of court as leverage, but I would chek with a lawyer.
822850
Well this is what u need to do. Go to the court house have the dad sign over custody then u will have temporary custody intill the next date when u gey full custody.
722486
First of all there was a lot you could do and it would have been much simpler to do it, you should have taken your son to a safe place, and left that crazy,immature,self centered,imbecile of a girlfriend of yours to do whatever she chose to do.\n Now you have opened a serious can or worms, even with a good lawyer you are in for a nightmare.child services can get involved,and you probably have no witness or way to prove any of your story,and even if you did,your still going to have to deal with kicking and striking her ,and to compound it ,the child was in the house at the time.\n What you need is a good lawyer,voluntarily get yourself enrolled in parenting classes,and counseling,and try to get your parents or some responsible adult to petition for temporary custody on the grounds of best interest of the child.\n Once this is resolved,petition for custody of the child,or a declaration of guardianship for your son, and petition for your girlfriend to have supervised visitation with her son only.\n Good luck, get enrolled in parenting classes and counseling today,to demonstrate your responsibility and intention to the court ,they aren't going for the "what else could I do" defense, and get yourself a good family lawyer who specializes in child disposition cases.
413202
You need to get to the courthouse and establish custody!  You need to get full custody, and get court ordered child support.  GET IN THERE ASAP!  Put it on paper!
832941
I'm assuming your question is...how do I go about obtaining this...\n\nFirst of all anyone can file for custody of a child (no matter their relationship to the child) if they believe that it would be in the best interest of the child for them to have custody. However, visitation is a little more tricky.\n\nYour first  step should be to contact the family court in the county where the child has resided for the past six months. Request a UCCJEA (out of state) custody/visitation petition (they are usually exactly the same, you just have to check different boxes). You can then take this to your attorney to complete or you can complete it yourself. They are not difficult to complete. You may be able to obtain the petition forms on-line or ask them to fax or mail them to you. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE OUT OF STATE PETITION! This is needed if any of the parties live in different states. The judge will need to verify jurisdiction.\n\nYou will have to either submit the completed petitions in person or you will have to have them notarized and then sent certified mail to the Family Court in Texas. The court clerk will give you your court date and time where you will plead your case to a judge, proving to him that it will benefit the child for you to have visitation or custody. You will want evidence and witnesses to testify as character witnesses on your behalf.\n\nIf the other party agrees then the process is fairly quick and simple. If they do not agree and  refuse to compromise then expect the process to get sticky. You will want to find a local lawyer or request a court appointed attorney to plead your case. Most likely if the two lawyers can not reach a compromise then the case will go to trial, which can take anywhere from 4 months to a year (or longer). \n\nIf you are requesting only visitation then know that in many states there is no such thing as grandparents rights (research this on-line for your state before trying to plead this). You may have to settle for visitation when your daughter has scheduled visitation. If she has no visitation then you can request that you be given her visitation so the child can have a connection to his/her maternal side.\n\nThe best advice any of us can give you is to speak to an attorney with family law experience in the state where the child resides. That would be Texas if the child has been there longer then 6 months or their previous state if they have not.\n\nBest of luck.\n\nAlso note: on the petition you are the petitioner and the respondents are both paternal grandparents, the bio dad, and the bio mom (unless either parent has given up their rights) and if child services is involved you will also have to list them as respondents. You need to file against all of them (not just the paternal grandparents) to make your petition valid.