Q: Is violating the PA Governor's stay at home order sufficient grounds to file for full custody of children?
My wife and I have been separated for 7 months. She has been in a relationship with another man for over 9 months. We have two children and do not have a signed agreement for anything yet. It is all being put into the divorce agreement. My wife had not brought this other man around our children at all until the very end of March. She first introduced him to our children 1 week before the governor expanded his stay at home order to the entire state of Pennsylvania. Since the order was expanded she has continued to have him over to her apartment both when are children are not there and also when they are there. I have asked her twice now to stop doing this. I have told her it is both a violation of the stay at home order as well as putting our children at an unnecessary risk for their health. She refuses to comply with my request and tells me and our children it is none of our business who she has at her apartment. Would this be sufficient grounds for me to file for full custody?
A: It's hard to know. Many judges are not looking happily upon people who they think are trying to use the stay-at-home order to their advantage in custody cases. On the other hand, you can argue that she's endangering your children. Your best bet is to speak about your options with an attorney in the county where the children reside. Many of us are doing telephone consultations, sometimes Zoom meetings, while our offices are shut down.
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