Q: Can a parent lose joint custody for not practicing visitation and not paying child support?
My ex wife and I share joint custody of our three children, but they live with me. It has been almost a year since she stopped following our parenting plan to have them every other weekend. She goes months without seeing them. She even changed her number and failed to tell me until months later when she wanted to ask for money. I had child support calculated based on the actual amount she sees them and she hasn't paid a penny. It has been 6 months since it was finalized. I do not believe she is a responsible parent based on her life choices/style and I do not think it is appropriate for me to make joint decisions about our kids when she is not involved. I am just wondering if I have a chance in court or if it would be a waste of time and money to try for full custody. I would not be asking for her visitation to change, just custody.
A:
In Oregon, Joint custody is only by mutual agreement. Either parent can ask the court to stop joint custody and determine who has custody going forward at any time. So assuming your parenting time/custody order came from an Oregon Court, that would be the law. However if a court in another State set up the custody situation, Oregon Law would not control. The court which originally made the custody/parenting time order has sole jurisdiction until there is a formal transfer of the case.
Assuming again we are talking about an Oregon Case, you will want to speak to an Attorney about your situation. I suspect that if you have been the de facto full time parent for six months or a year, the odds are very good that the court will make this the official custody situation. But the court could go the other way based on the facts of the case which there simply is not time to wade through on the internet and you should never publish the full details of your case on a publicly visible web page. Invest in a professional private consultation with an experienced family law lawyer in your area.
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