Q: Defending against restraining order and threat of demanding full custody
my 24-year-old son is being threatened by his ex (and mother of his two young children) to get a restraining order and file for sole custody of their children. She is basing it on a text he wrote -- after she said she didn't want to take the boys back for her "week" on because she couldn't handle it. He was so frustrated with her repeated antics, he apparently wrote something to the effect that "I am so frustrated with you, I could kill you." She reportedly replied "good, it'll save me the trouble of doing it myself." He makes minimum wage, she has dropped the boys at our house when she knew no one was home, drinks most nights, fails to get her son to school repeatedly, and the older boy is a mess physically and emotionally, needing several days at our house to quit being defiant, and starting up again when he knows he's going back to her home. My son lives with my husband and I. Should he have an attorney at this stage, or simply go to court with witnesses and fight it? thank you
A: This sounds like fairly weak grounds for a restraining order, but I have seen restraining orders granted for less. At this point, because the consequences of having a restraining order against you can be extreme, I would hire an attorney and file for custody. I would also have your son cease contact with the mother other than items regarding the children. I would also suggest that he not be around her without an adult third party witness present.
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