If a mother has full custody and father has visitation, if the mother goes to jail does father auto get kids?

Question

Mother is married to someone, but has primary custody, and father has visitation, mother gets into trouble and has to serve jail sentence, does father automatically get kids when mother is convicted

Answer 1

Not necessarily. There would be a new review of what's in the best interest of the child. The father may not have been custody for good reason (abusive, drug addicted, can't support the kids).

Answer 2

If i understand correctly the mother was awarded custody and the father parenting time in the same judgement. That order is binding and the mother can't expect to have the benefit and ignore the condition that comes with. The father has the right to visitation and doesn't need to go to court again to have it enforced. The mother is in violation of the court order and could face sanctions and even lose the full custody that she was awarded. The mother best have a very good reason for withholding visitation because otherwise she's just plain breaking the law, and will be penalized for doing so. The father could get himself in trouble by falsely causing an Amber Alert.

Answer 3

I have read your question a few times, because I read the answers first and I noticed a lot saying things about a stepfather, but I didn't read that.
You didn't say anything about a stepfather, I also notieced that you said father has visitation, it is very likely that the mother would have been giving custodial and father would get visitation no mention of the father being abusive either .
The father would be the first choice for the system, but most are right when they say there would be a home study done first.

Answer 4

Not necessarily......There are several situations that can affect what happens. Why didn't Dad get partial custody in the first place - was there abuse of some sort? Any kind of criminal record? Does he even WANT custody? How old are the children - and do they WANT to go with Dad? Is there anybody else that wants custody that would be a better custodian for the children?
The judge will weigh all the circumstances and place the children with whomever will best care for the children.

Answer 5

Your stepfather will not get custody if that is what you are worried about. Father will most likely get full custody but there could be a hearing about it if another family member or even the step father petitions for custody. If you want someone else to have custody have them petition for it and it will go to family court. (I am not 100% on this but I believe its how it works.)

Answer 6

No, the father must go to court and have the custody agreement changed in order to get full custody of the children.

Answer 7

to me this makes sense however if the father was abusive and that is the reason of the divorce i think the children would go to a guardian either appointed by the courts and /or the mother may have a say in were the children go.A lot depends on the specific legal terms in you area best to consult a lawyer

Answer 8

Probably. The stepfather has no legal rights to the kids. As long as the father has not lost his parental rights, the court will most likely grant him custody.

Answer 9

good question! i mean it depends, did the father ever abuse them in any way? do they have any other close relatives? it really depends on WHY the mother had full custody. but yes there is quite a high chance they could go to the dad if he never hurt them.

Answer 10

absolutely not a court will determine if the father is qualified or deserves to be full time parent there was a reason kids were with mom in the first place