Q: Have 1.5 weeks to get ready for a hearing to get my son back, FULL custody. How can I be prepared to win this case?
My son is 5 years old and his mother suddenly moved him, her and her daughter's belongings out of our apartment that we shared for 6 years. She did this right in front of the children, very upsetting to them and me. She took my son away and refused to let me see him for the most part. I contacted her multiple times to try and see my son so then she slapped me with a two-week restraining order to not see her or our son. After that hearing it was extended for a year but with more visitation every Wednesday for an hour and a half and every other weekend. I now opened a case 4 family plan, asking for full custody. I have less than 2 weeks to lock down getting my son back. His mother is living with her parents, six people in a one-room studio and our son is sleeping in the same bed room as her and her alcoholic boyfriend as they have intimacy. She neglects my son, due to work and being with her boyfriend. My son misses his home, his school and his friends back with me.
A:
What a difficult situation for you. Each county has some kind of legal aid program, one that organizes for others in the state is the Northwest Justice Project (https://nwjustice.org/). You can call their CLEAR Hotline at 1-888-201-1014
(M-F 9:15 am to 12:15 pm) to see if pro bono (free) legal help is available to you, and you could start/continue self-educating by reading the materials at http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/search?q=child+custody. Good luck.
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