Can he keep my son?

[Dawna61]

I am the mother of a 12 year old boy whom I share joint custody of with his father, but I am the primary custodial parent. My question is why can't the police retrive my son from his fathers possession when the father failed to return the child home after visitation? They say I have to go back to court and file a motion to hold him in contempt. Do I not have more "rights" than his father, or do we share them equally?

 

[Duranie]

Does the decree specifically say that you are to have the child back? Is the child in the same state right now?

Police often do not get involved because it is a civil matter.

Go to court and file a contempt motion ASAP.

 

[Dawna61]

No the decree does not state that specifically, it only says that we have joint custody, with me as the primary custodial parent with him having visitations every other weekend.

Yes we do live in the same state.

The police sure won't help, I even tried to get CPS to intervene, due to the fact that the ex has past child abuse charges and he had allowed a friend to force my son to take his meds for ADHD with a beer. I prosecuted over that. But they say they can't help. I'm going crazy, not knowing if my son is okay or not. I am not being allowed telephone conversations. The ex even removed my son from his school, into a new one, school called me, after the fact. They became scared after they were asked to fax my sons birth certificate and social security number to the new school.

 

[Duranie]

Why haven't you seen an attorney? See one asap and get contempt charges filed against your ex.

 

[carney]

Unfortunately the police don't help in these matters. Get an attorney now and have him charged with whatever they can charge him with. Did you ask the police if you could charge him with kidnapping since he moved him from schools and you haven't been able to contact him? They might be able to do something if you say you will press charges against him for that. It doesn't hurt to ask them again. If he had moved him out of state you could have called the FBI but they only help if he's in another state. But don't feel bad if you have to press charges against him. I would also ask the courts to give him supervised visitation based on this incident because you feel afraid he could do it again. They may not give it but it doesn't hurt to ask.