A friend of mine, I'll call her Sally, has an ugly situation brewing.
Her husband, whom she's been separated from for almost a year, is currently doing a 60 day sentence for burglary. He has work release 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, because he is "self-employed." He lives with his mother, who is a known alcoholic.
Sally had plans with family & friends over the weekend, an annual event in commemoration of a deceased family member. On the way to her destination, the driver of the vehicle Sally was in was arrested for DUI.
Her husband found out about this, went over to her house, and took the kids, who were in the care of Sally's parents for the weekend. The husband told the grandmother that they didn't need to be watching their kids, took them out of the home, the later said that if Sally made any attempt to come and get the kids, she would be arrested.
Sally, who was out of the state by this time, was called by Social Services and told that they understood she may have been arrested and that her kids have called three weekends in a row to complain about their living circumstances. Interestly, they are with their father and/or his mother on the weekends. Social Services told her the kids needed to stay with their father until a stable living arrangement could be established. (Their father is in jail 12 hours a day!)
No legal documentation, or any documentation for that matter, has been provided to Sally.
Sally has placed a call to a lawyer, but so far, the attorney is not available.
Are there legal steps Sally can take to establish temporary legal custody. The allegations the father is using are bogus.
He has only been doing this type of thing since he found out Sally is going to file for divorce and seek full-legal custody of the kids. He has told Sally that he will never write her a child support check, no matter what. The father has not been helping Sally support their kids, even while Sally had surgery and was unable to work for several months. Sally's family paid the household bills, not her husband.
Sally is the only one with steady work, she has already been getting family counseling for her and her children, as well as providing individual counseling for their kids. She is home from work before the kids get out of school and stays home with them, with the exception of if she goes out on the weekend. In her absence, they are with a family member.
It's crazy to me that there'd by any way for him to have temporary custody, considering that fact that he is serving a jail sentence.
Her husband, whom she's been separated from for almost a year, is currently doing a 60 day sentence for burglary. He has work release 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, because he is "self-employed." He lives with his mother, who is a known alcoholic.
Sally had plans with family & friends over the weekend, an annual event in commemoration of a deceased family member. On the way to her destination, the driver of the vehicle Sally was in was arrested for DUI.
Her husband found out about this, went over to her house, and took the kids, who were in the care of Sally's parents for the weekend. The husband told the grandmother that they didn't need to be watching their kids, took them out of the home, the later said that if Sally made any attempt to come and get the kids, she would be arrested.
Sally, who was out of the state by this time, was called by Social Services and told that they understood she may have been arrested and that her kids have called three weekends in a row to complain about their living circumstances. Interestly, they are with their father and/or his mother on the weekends. Social Services told her the kids needed to stay with their father until a stable living arrangement could be established. (Their father is in jail 12 hours a day!)
No legal documentation, or any documentation for that matter, has been provided to Sally.
Sally has placed a call to a lawyer, but so far, the attorney is not available.
Are there legal steps Sally can take to establish temporary legal custody. The allegations the father is using are bogus.
He has only been doing this type of thing since he found out Sally is going to file for divorce and seek full-legal custody of the kids. He has told Sally that he will never write her a child support check, no matter what. The father has not been helping Sally support their kids, even while Sally had surgery and was unable to work for several months. Sally's family paid the household bills, not her husband.
Sally is the only one with steady work, she has already been getting family counseling for her and her children, as well as providing individual counseling for their kids. She is home from work before the kids get out of school and stays home with them, with the exception of if she goes out on the weekend. In her absence, they are with a family member.
It's crazy to me that there'd by any way for him to have temporary custody, considering that fact that he is serving a jail sentence.
