Q: Child custody. Currently a every other week court ordered agreement but other parent disappears frequently.
We current have an every other week schedule but other parent hasn’t been able to uphold this agreement so I have taken care of the weekly and now they have disappeared multiple weekends and been unable to be contacted or located. Do I have a case to get full custody with limited/supervised visitation or way to have rights terminated? Child is starting to notice and it is causing emotional distress and I’m worried about long term effects of them disappearing (abandonment issues) as well as if the rights were terminated I know there will be fall back in both situations. The other parents family fully backs me and such, it’s just a really sad/bad situation for the kid and the emotions it is causing and upsets me since there is little I can do. Thanks!
A:
Of course you should consider consulting with a local family law attorney for a better answer, but you likely do have grounds to seek to modify the existing custody order. Despite his recent behavior, I would imagine that a judge thinks this person should still have some contact with their child, perhaps every other weekend or something along those lines. I'm not sure I would go as far to say you would be successful getting "full" custody (which is sort of a meaningless term) or getting his rights terminated, but perhaps if his behavior continues then my answer would change.
To start this process, you need to file a Motion to Modify, and must allege (and proof) that there has been a substantial change in circumstances since the last custody order that has affected the minor child. You might need some assistance drafting this motion, which is one of the reasons why I recommended consulting with a local family law attorney.
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