Child Custody Legal Answers

Will a court give shared custody to an abusive parent?

I’ve been married 8 years and during that time I’ve had 3 restraining orders against my husband. He has physically, once putting me in the hospital. I finally got free of him this last time while he was in jail for assaulting me. I’m ready to pursue divorce but we have a 15 year old son who says he wants to live with his father. They are very close, to the point that my son imitates his father’s behavior and treats me very badly. I do not want my son to grow up to be abusive and I don’t want his father to have custody. What are the chances that a judge would give this violent many shared or full custody of my son? Will what my son says he wants have any bearing on the judge’s decision?

Indianapolis, IN

Mar 15, 2021

Can Parental Alienation be grounds for changing child custody?

My ex’s father is alienating my son from me. He says terrible things about me and my current husband to my son and does anything he can to turn him against me. My son will now not listen to anything I have to say or abide by my rules when he is with me. My ex and I currently share custody, but I think I need to obtain full custody and get my son away from his father’s negative influence. My son will object to this I am sure, but he’s only 12 and I don’t think he should have any say in the matter. Is parental alienation enough to warrant changing custody and how do I prove the negative things my husband is doing to my son?

New York, NY

Mar 15, 2021

Can my ex move with our kids without court permission?

My ex has sole custody of our 2 kids but I get every other weekend with them. We live in Memphis but she says she is moving to Nashville for work and taking them with her. That’s over 3 hours away and if I go get them for my weekends and bring the back here, I’ll be on the road over 6 hours just to turn around and do it again two days later when I take them back. I want to object to her move. She is an accountant and can find a job anyway, she doesn’t need to move our kids 3 hours away just for work. Can she move without getting permission from a judge first if I tell her I don’t agree to the kids moving with her?

Memphis, TN

Mar 15, 2021

What are my rights as a father in a child custody case?

I’m battling for equal custody of my 10 year old daughter and it seems that at every court hearing the judge has a preference for giving custody to her mother. I thought I had the same rights to custody as the mother but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The judge even asked me at the first temporary hearing how I thought I’d be able to handle my daughter’s needs as she gets older. I am just as good of a parent as the mother, probably better. Do I have equal rights as the father and can I get shared custody? Is there some preference that courts have in Virginia for awarding custody of children to the mother, especially if the child is a girl? What do I have to show to a judge to prove that I can parent my daughter as well as her mother can?

Richmond, VA

Mar 15, 2021

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