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Please help me. I am in the middle of a custody case. Last year my 10 year old was awarded custody to his father who was absent at least 7 or 8 of his years. I give a brief break down. I went to jail in 2005 for a charge in 1999. The charge is done and over with. The father decides to step in and is awarded custody based on the grounds that he is married, in the army, and basically makes more money than I. I am not married but was with my other kids father for 8 years before he went to prison. I have 3 children from him. Since then I have been on my job for over a year and have never had my kids seperated or mistreated. I live in Florida and apparently legal aid is too booked to help me. I work in fast food and am limited to where I can work. Majority of my check is taken to pay child support and the rest barely pays the bills. I can not afford a lawyer, so I am stuck. My son wants to come home just as much as we want him home. Please help me some way some how. I promised him.

2007-03-03 03:15:15 · 7 answers · asked by deauveyon 1 in Politics & Government Law & Ethics

7 answers

file an amendment. a lot of times you can do this yourself with out a lawyer. (depending on the state) all though no offense it sounds like you've made some bad decisions. what did the other man go to prison for? that could be the reason he was able to get him from you. if the reason for your limited working abilities is due to not having a diploma get into a GED program that will help show that you're trying to be responsible. if you have a diploma but no college degree then you should be able to get a better paying job through temp-to-hire agencies like manpower. also enrolling in an online college course or something may be beneficial as well. they have a lot of financial aid assistance out there for single mothers. i would keep trying back at the legal aid department every month eventually they'll get you in. just be diligent in your efforts.

2007-03-03 03:22:37 · answer #1 · answered by butter_cream1981 4 · 1 0

This is a very difficult position that you are in. Part of the problem is that the court is chiefly interested in what is in the best interest of the child. This is not always what the child wants or thinks he or she wants. The court looks at the actual record, the ability of each party to provide care and the situation that each parent is living in. It is pretty much based on a general formula, not emotion. The gact that you cannot afford an attorney is already a strike against you. Unless and until you are able to prove to a judge (who, by the way, is not biased), that you are better able to provide for your son, or equally able to provide for him as his father, you will have a difficult time. Your best move would be to try to come to some kind of arrangement with the father for visitation and perhaps eventual joint custody. It has to be out of the courtroom, out of the legal arena, on a personal basis. Fighting, in this case will be of little use because you seem to be on weak legal ground.

2007-03-03 11:28:08 · answer #2 · answered by fangtaiyang 7 · 0 0

Unfortunately the children service does what it wants it does not follow its own rules. You should at least have particial custody. You have to keep up with everything they tell you and write every single thing down no matter how insignificant you think it is (not that it will do any good) but it is a plus in being pro active which they seem to place a lot of emphasis on. Write down every time you make phone calls day, time and who as long as it is pertaining to your kids. It is very hard fighting them but you need to really push that you do want your kids.
They claim they do not go by income as long as you have a decent clean place but they do go by income.
They say have a lawyer but the public defenders they assign are NOT on your side for the most part.

2007-03-03 11:27:14 · answer #3 · answered by sapphire_630 5 · 0 0

Sometimes preference is given because the person is in the military.I saw my best friend lose custody of both of her children to her ex who is in the military.This is a man who had numerous domestic violence police reports filed on him.She fled one day with her children when he was about to hit one of them with a shovel,she stepped in instead.The military backs them no matter what they have done and even provided a lawyer for him.When you are up against that,you don't stand a chance.

2007-03-04 01:10:28 · answer #4 · answered by Jan 7 · 0 0

You lost custody due to an illegal activity that sent you to jail... In my opinion, your son is better off where he is.

If the only job you can qualify for is flipping hamburgers, you are not capable of taking care of your children.

Leave your 10 year old alone - give him a chance to make something of his life so he doesn't end up in a dead-end job like you have.

2007-03-03 13:45:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

If you truly believe that your child will be better off with you, then you may have to beg or borrow the money to get your child back. You may have to wait until the child is at the "age of reason", (I think it's about 12) when a judge will actually consider what the child wants. Good luck for you for working so hard to better your life.

2007-03-03 11:20:13 · answer #6 · answered by katydid 7 · 0 0

if he really misses you and wants so badly to be with you. tell your son, he must tell his father how he's feeling and what he wants. its a hard thing for someone so young to do, but i think the father needs to respect that his children still love you, even if he doesnt, and realise they really do need you, as much as they need him. no one should have the children more or less than the other. even if you both hate each other's guts, the children dont, they are what really matters. no judge or attorney can really do this for you, you need to communicate calmly yourself, have the children communicate thier feelings, not yours or the father's feelings, thier's. true human communication and intelligent reasoning can go really far. i guess, if both parties are willing to listen to the children and love them, you'll both see how important a real mother and real father is to them. im not sure what you did to go to jail, but its obvious you love your children. the fathers needs to know, even when the mother makes mistakes, does wrong, and screws up, most of the time, children will always love her. my mom is kinda messed up, i love her always, my brother is in prison, hes done real wrong, but i love him still. its much easier to break a husband and wife apart, but mother and children, its much harder.

2007-03-03 11:43:58 · answer #7 · answered by greenhorns99 1 · 0 0

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