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I live in Alaska.
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answered on Jun 13, 2023
It sounds as though your rights were terminated without your consent. If that's the case, then you just have to ask nicely, because it's completely up to the adoptive parents whether they allow visits or not. The prevailing thought on adoptions is that it is good for kids to have some... View More 
The mother was deemed an unfit parent and parental rights were terminated by OCS. Grandmother adopted the two of the children who now live with her. The mother was allowed 2 days of visitation a week but it had to be supervised my grandmother. The mother has been living with her mother for the past... View More
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answered on Dec 27, 2022
As the adoptive parent, the grandmother has the legal right to make all decisions for the child, including who is around the child. So the unfit bio mother being there is not in itself a problem. However, like all parents, the grandmother could lose her parental rights just like the mother did.... View More
Her wish is to have the kids placed with me and her step-father! What steps would we need to do to make this happen?
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answered on Dec 3, 2021
It sounds like the kids are already in the custody of the state in Michigan. That means you will have to work with their Child Protective Services office (CPS). Ask your daughter for the contact information for the assigned social worker and contact that person to let them know you are requesting... View More
1. I'm told that the court is only interested in dividing assets. Would the emotional abuse that prompted my filing for divorce likely have any bearing on the outcome?
2. My husband has made it clear that he wants to part with as little of our assets and funds as he can. He has no... View More
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answered on Sep 8, 2021
1. The reason for the divorce is generally not relevant to property division.
2&3. In Alaska, mediation is always voluntary. The court will order mediation if the parties both agree it would be useful, but would probably not do so if one party tells the court that emotional abuse... View More
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answered on Aug 24, 2021
The short answer is no. You are not allowed to take back custody without court permission. However, depending on the facts and the terms of the guardianship order, there may be a way to take the child with you, as long as the court hearing is coming up in the near future. You should have an... View More
The assigned attorney fails to give briefings before the hearings and fails to offer any advice. She is pretty much just a County paid paper pusher.
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answered on Jul 21, 2021
When you or your attorney calls OCS, you can generally ask for the immediate supervisor of the assigned worker. If that doesn't work, you can usually get the next person up. Keep going as far as you can. If necessary, try the Juneau main office. In some cases, the state Ombudsman can... View More
My child’s birth father left state when our child was 1. She’s turning 6 this year. He has had a few FaceTime calls , does not pay child support, and can go months without contact to now over two years before out of the blue asking how she is and not contacting for weeks again. We do not have a... View More
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answered on Jun 3, 2021
In a custody case, nothing is certain. However, it is quite hard to get full legal and physical custody with no visitation unless the other parent has a criminal sexual abuse conviction or has a history of domestic violence, etc. Even then visitation would often be allowed, but supervised. A... View More
He is working on starting divorce proceedings but has not seen his children since his soon to be ex-wife kicked him out of their home three weeks ago in the middle of the night. Their children went to bed and dad lived in the home, the next morning dad did not. Up until this happened he was... View More
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answered on May 18, 2021
First try to use persuasion. Let the wife know that divorce paperwork will be filed very soon. Let her know the court will be looking at each parent's behavior, and her denying contact with the children might reflect very poorly on her. Encourage her to talk to an attorney, who will... View More
She had a round trip ticket. He didn’t send her home and filed for full custody first. Will the judge look at him as unfit for the child involved because of his impulsive choices? We have never had an issue with sharing our child or anything through the courts
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answered on Dec 10, 2020
It sounds like you do not have a custody order in any state, and you had an informal agreement. Yes, violation of a well documented agreement might weigh against the parent who violates it, especially if it creates anxiety for the child, who may not now know where she will be living from one day... View More
My children were taken by ocs in alaska and placed in foster care with non relatives because my entire family lives out of state they have filed termination and trial just occurred for termination judge is waiting for the closing arguements. My brother and father in Arizona want to adopt my... View More
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answered on Nov 12, 2020
Yes, your relatives can do two things. They can intervene in the CINA case to contest OCS's placement decision, and they can file an adoption petition, which would probably be assigned to the same judge handling the CINA case. They should have legal assistance for that, as there is lots of... View More
My son and I left Alaska when he was less than a year old, and his father hasn’t seen him since. They Skype, and he follows his child support order. We have joint legal custody and I have primary physical custody. My son is now 7, and I want to know if his grandmother has any rights to him, or... View More
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answered on Sep 11, 2020
Yes.
It's not even clear that any action by the court would be needed. He was already able to exercise legal custody, and after your death, he would have the clear right to physical custody.
Grandparents would have no right to custody, though they could ask for... View More
Now ocs is saying my house needs to be cleared to get my kids back. There was an incident that happened with the father and his new gf, and the officer involved instead of taking them into custody wrote an ocs report. My childern were not present in that altercation. The following morning I went to... View More
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answered on Jun 29, 2020
There is no simple answer to your question, other than the following general principles.
1. Make contact with the social worker and cooperate with OCS to get yourself and anyone else in your home checked and cleared.
2. Unless you can afford a private attorney, submit a request to... View More
Weekends holidays and most of the summer.the kids want to be with me more but when i go to pick them up there mother locks the door and wont let them out of her house is that legal?also what can i do about it and what are my rights as a father
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answered on Apr 7, 2020
Your rights are exactly the same as the mother's. However, there's nothing to spell out what that means. If the two of you don't agree how to manage in that completely undefined environment, then either of you can file a Complaint for Custody with the court. Ideally you would... View More
He keeps making motions knowing I am running out of money to pay to defend them plus I can't afford to keep flying to Alaska. I have to take care of my child (who I was awarded full custody of) plus the airfare is just another expense.
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answered on Nov 18, 2019
If you win those motions, you can ask the court to have him pay a portion of your costs and attorney's fees.
You can participate in the hearings by phone. It would take some extra work to file exhibits, etc. in advance, and it's not as good as being there, but it would send a... View More
Our son is a child in need of aid but the court granted us full custody and rights over our child. We were in the process of moving to Texas to be with family can we still move and have our case transferred. We have another hearing in 6 months and how fast can we leave
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answered on Oct 10, 2019
More information is needed to answer you question. Child custody jurisdiction usually requires that you and the child reside in the new state for at least 6 months before that state can handle custody matters. However, that's not automatic, and if the other parent still resides in the... View More
My 19 year old daughter took my 19 month old for an overnight visit she went to OCS and she said the father and I are on heroin which is unfounded and a lie we both have random UA's for different reasons. him-Court reasons and myself-my doctor. it is a completely false allegation my daughter... View More
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answered on Jul 22, 2019
Call OCS (269-4000 if you're in Anchorage). Give your child's name and ask to be connected with the assigned social worker. You'll probably get voicemail, so leave all your contact info and let him/her know you have not received notice. If you don't reach the social worker... View More
My husband just decided that I’m evil and he doesn’t love me but I know he does he runs away from his family he won’t talk to any of us his wife or kid he left me with the house which I can’t afford I was a stay at home mom for 15 years and he forced me into a job I have no education and I... View More
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answered on Jun 10, 2019
There really isn't any legal process you can use to prevent a divorce from happening or to force a spouse into counseling. If he does file a divorce complaint and custody is at issue, the court will sometimes order a party (more often both parties) to be evaluated, but that's only if... View More
Is not a good match because she has had ocs calls on my younger brother. Any past cases have been closed and have been for several years with her so can I give full custody to my mom without OCS approval
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answered on May 30, 2019
Your question is a good one, but there's no way to assess whether your mother would be a suitable placement based on the number of years since prior calls. It depends on what the prior calls were about, and whether OCS determined she had committed abuse or neglect, and what type. Also... View More
I can not afford an Attorney, is there any way to ask for physical custody without one? What are my best options as the sole provider
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answered on May 23, 2019
Yes, you can take the child out of state. Either parent can legally do that. Just be aware that without a custody order, the other parent can also legally come to the other state, pick the child up from school or daycare, and take the child back to Alaska. The fact that it's legal... View More
We live in Alaska. The children’s father is working on the North Slope
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answered on Mar 21, 2019
A power of attorney from one parent doesn't affect the other parent's rights. You can still do anything you would do if you were dealing directly with the father instead of the grandparents. However, you need to be careful in taking children from someone who has been the primary... View More
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