Child Custody?

Question

I am getting ready to file for divorce but I am scared of my husband fighting me over my daughter. She is 17months old and I am the one that does everything for her.. My husband sees her maybe about an hour a week cause he works 16 hour days almost always 7 days a week. Do I stand a good chance of getting full custody of my daughter.. ???

The only reason he would fight me would be to make me mad.. He wants nothing to do with me or her... I'm a great mother I work two jobs but all my free time is to her. He would rather spend his free time in a bar which he does twice a week... I am also in the state of ohio.

here is a good point I forget to mention.. He spends his thursday nights on a dart league and calls into work and will spend the night at the barand not coming home till like 10am the next morning.. Not letting me know he has done this. lets me believe he is at work.

Answer 1

It sounds like you have nothing to worry about. No judge in his right mind, would appoint him as legal guardian of your daughter. All of the things you mentioned must be proved in the court. Make sure you have proof of all of this. Heresay will not work. You must have the proof! Best of luck to you and your daughter. I pray that you and your daughter will live a happy and healthy life together!

Answer 2

The judge will not give you full custody. The judge will give you joint custody.This means that you both will have custody of the child, but the child will be in your care at all times. He obviously cannot fully care for the child since he does work 16 hours a day almost every single day. Visitation will either be set up with what you both agree on or if you both cannot come to an agreement, then the judge will set one up for you. The only way you can get full custody of your child is if he sexually/physically abuses the child, malnutrition of the child, subjects the child to an unstable living area (such as drugs in the house), has any mental illness, or is constantly in and out of jail.
Hope this information was helpful.

Answer 3

With a schedule like that, he really cannot take good care of her. Now it also depends in what state you are. Are you working too? If so, the judge will do what is best for the child. But if you are availlable to take care of her more than he is, the chances are pretty good, that you might get primary custody of the child. Now if he is a good father to her, maybe you should give him a chance to spend some time with her too. Is there a way you 2 could get to an agreement before going to court? If so that would be the best for the child and you.

Answer 4

Do be careful. If he's really into control, he may go for custody. And depending on the judge, he may get it. It seems to be very fashionable to give fathers custody these days. So many dads don't care, so when one does go through the motions, it's not uncommon for them to get what they demand. Especially when they have a lot of money.

Some people are not up to date on the courts. Moms no longer have an edge. They only have custody more often because no one challenges them for it. When they are challenged (often by a retaliatory abuser), they lose 50-70% of the time. Plus, dads have the money and tend to be more aggressive. As moms are less "favored," money and agression win out, just like they do in every other court battle.

Answer 5

Joint custody is normally awarded in most cases. In order to get full custody, you would have to prove to the court that your husband is an unfit parent. This is really hard to do, and usually involves cases of abuse and neglect - chances are you won't get it, and it will just be an ugly battle and your daughter will be in the middle of it.

If she lives with you, you will still have primary physical custody, which could be important in decisions like private school and such. Joint legal custody gives you both equal rights in making legal decisions about what is right for her - but having primary physical custody puts a little more weight behind your opinion in court.

If he doesn't see her much now anyway, it won't really matter in the end. Divorce itself is painful, and he knows what pushes your buttons - call his bluff. Tell him he can have joint custody. If he chooses not to see her, then you won't have to answer for him when your daughter gets old enough to ask questions. It actually worked out well in my case - my daughter's dad wanted visitation and had to take time off work to do it. They have a better relationship because of it.

Answer 6

Full Custody? No probably not. It's normal to get Joint Custody which means the child lives with you and he gets visitation rights. You can either agree on a visitation schedule or the court will set one for you. If he only see's her that little then odds are he's not going to fight you on that.

Answer 7

You should have no problems getting joint custody, with you as primary. Unless he changes jobs. Remember the Judge is suppose to be looking for the best interest of the child.

Answer 8

~It depends on a lot of things. But if you've had her since you've split up and he's working all the time, it would be more convenient for you to have her most of the time. I don't know about Sole Custody, maybe Joint Custody, but you would have to speak with an attorney about that for sure. Trust your instincts, attorneys love to draw things out, it makes them money.~

Answer 9

In most states you have to be a pretty bad mother to lose custody of your daughter. So I would say that you have good chance of getting her unless you are on drugs or are a criminal.

Answer 10

Yes, you do. Ensure that you have a good divorce attny, and insist on full custody in your decree.