Q: My Son is 8. My ex wife and I have verbal agreements regarding parenting time. We have Joint Custody of our Son.
I am very involved in his life. My ex is considered the custodial parent. My Son is struggling bad, extreme, with anxiety. He only has issues while he is at his Mom's house. He has 0 issues when he is with me. Regarding the same things. Brushing his teeth, etc. Basic things. My Son is requesting to come live with me moving forward. And visit and stay with his Mom on Weekends like he does now with me. My Ex Wife is being stubborn and wants to keep things the same as now. But, she tells our Son to his face that he is disturbing her household and he "messes up the day" and he "disrupts" everyone at the house. It would be a much healthier environment for everyone involved if my Son came and lived with me moving forward. His School, etc would NOT change at all. Same exact things he is currently accustomed to. Do I have any legal standing to take this to court and a judge to state he will live with me now?
A: As his father, of course you have legal standing to bring a request to modify custody and parenting time to the Court - but your questions really isn't about legal standing. You want to know whether you will be successful against a stubborn adversary who isn't willing to see things the same way as you. In order to sort out the answer to that question, and/or formulate a workable strategy to maximize the chances that you can work things out to support your son's best interests, you will need a legal advocate who primarily practices family law that is both compassionate and tenacious. Research some of those attorneys and schedule some consultations until you speak with someone who you feel good about.
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