my spouse is in jail &wants custody of our kids

[beth_ann]

my husband is in jail on 12 counts of child sodomy & statutory rape. our divorce is set for 4/6/06. the prosecuter says the case is rock solid & he is facing life in prison. our last court date he decided he wants custody of our 4 kids (this was before he went to jail) i have a legal aid attorney who doesnt seem to care, (he said my x could still get custody & visitation) is this a possibility and will they grant my divorce while he`s in jail?

 

[carney]

Yes, divorces can be granted while a person is in jail. It's very doubtful that he will get custody of the children. Your legal aid lawyer sounds like an idiot. You make sure the judge knows what he did and why he is in jail. The way your lawyer is talking sounds like he may not bring it up. Have you called child services to see if they can help? You need to have the lawyer put in the papers that you want complete custody and if the father is ever granted visits to make sure they are supervised visits only. The legal aid lawyer for my friend did that for her. Her husband was convicted of child pornography. Good luck.

 

[Duranie]

Did the father abuse these children or someone else's? Given his track record I cannot imagine him getting custody or unsupervised visitation. If you are not satisfied with your legal aid attorney, call around and see if another will help you, maybe pro bono if you let them know what the father is in jail for.

If he is facing life in prison, I would even see about stripping parental rights. In a few states, you can do this if you are not remarried and the father is facing a long time in prison. What do the kids want? If you think the kids want to see dad from time to time then that is up to you.

Has he gone to trial? Sounds like he will be locked up for a while if found guilty. How in the world does any attorney think he will get custody or visitation?

 

[beth_ann]

The father sexually abused someone elses child. But he may have also abused our daughter- she was in a psychiatric unit she said she was molested but would not name the molester (I suspect it was her dad but as far as I know she's never admitted this) She gets counseling ect...

The father was charged and prosecuting attorney feels she has rock solid case but he's not been found guilty by the court yet. My understanding is he'll serve a minimum of 40 yrs if found guilty--we'll see.

My children are happy they don't have to see their father any more.--- But of course time seems to make them miss him-- atleast this is what has happened in the past.

thanks beth ann