Q: My sons grandparents were granted custody of him because I was absent from the hearing. How do I get custody back
My son was living with me when his grandparents filed for custody and won because I missed the hearing. They will let me see him sometimes then stop allowing me to see him for long periods of time for no good reason. My son was never abused or neglected while living with me he was happy and well taken care of. I just want my son back. He is 7 and this is affecting him emotionaly in a bad way. He wants to be with me but is kept from seeing me I am his father. What do i do to be with my son again
A:
I can't imagine why you would miss a hearing about such an important issue as the custody of your son? There is really no excuse unless you were hospitalized and too sick or injured to attend. Your absence shouts loudly to the court that parenting your son is not a priority for you. So I hope you have some really good reason for your absence and saying that you had to work isn't a good reason. These hearings are scheduled with advanced notice so people can arrange to take time off of work or ask for the hearing to be rescheduled. You can even request being allowed to testify by phone if you live a long distance from the court and can't travel to the court.
Having said all this, you will just have to hire an attorney to find out what you need to do. Something will need to be filed with the court asking to either set aside the prior ruling or for a modification. You might be able to ask the court to order visitation so the grandparents don't have the ability to allow or disallow visitation.
Constitutionally, as the biological father, you have a much greater right to have custody of your son then the grandparents so absent proof that you aren't capable of properly raising your son, you should have won any custody case. Also I don't see grandparents filing for custody normally unless they are really worried about whether or not the child is getting proper care from their parents. So something must have triggered these events and you should only discuss this case privately with an attorney you hire to help you.
If you are having trouble hiring an attorney because you are low income, try calling St. Andrews Legal Services as they offer a sliding scale rate based on income.
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