Q: Abusive absent father who is still legally married to his first wife, is trying to get 50 50 custody...help?
Been seperated 4 years, attempts at reconciling ending in mental and physical abuse for myself, During this time our 6 year old son has solely resided with me, with no financial support from father. Father was given chance after chance to be an active father and would always end up not following through... Have examples provable of the mental abuse of my son and i from father, as well as an attempted strangulation charge, and we had to flee to Oregon on a domestic violence grant to try and escape.... Father has now filed divorce and is now asking for 50 50 custody and that I should be paying him child support. There is no custody order in place, father told school he will be picking him up. I need to know how to respond to the summons, my husband is still legally married to his first wife, i was filing for annulment. I am contesting all aspects of his decree.Fathers rights terminated with 3 other children. Also there is a felony video voyeurism charge that is in proceedings.
A: If you and he had no previous custody order in place, then strictly speaking, he is NOTHING but a sperm donor. Simply by having his name on the birth certificate gives him NOTHING but obligations to pay child support. If he ever wanted to become the "father" of this 6 yr. old son, he would need to "man up" and file a Petition for Paternity and Custody. Now, from your question it appears as though he may have in fact filed something like that already. If so, it will NOT change your rights as his mother to 100% legal and physical custody of him. The way you respond to the Summons and Petition is to get a good lawyer and answer it, pointing out that he is a violent, manipulative, lying POS.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
