custody advice needed

[katay64]

Spouse is bipolar and bounces back and forth as far as being compliant with meds and counciling, history of drug abuse, reckless conduct (tried to run over a friend with her car) and her parents have custody of her 4 yr old son. All of this is documented with police reports and medical records. Psych records also indicate spouse has homicidal ideation towards her son and me. Our daughter is never mentioned in the records. We have a 2 yr old daughter, I have her 4 days and spouse has her 3 days a week. I requested a gal for daughter. That has not gone well. Gal has pressured me into dropping supervised visitation since spouse has passed last 2 drug tests and is back on medication. My attorney says he will not fight the gal because the judge will go by her recommendation. Gal wants us to agree on joint custody. There are two sides to every story but my spouse has made accusations that I am controlling, abusive and that I use drugs too. I do have a DUI from 9 years ago, but the other accusations are not true. My question is, do I just go with what the gal has advised and hope she is right? I know conflict makes my spouse more emotionally unstable and this has been difficult for everyone, but I also know that my spouse will always make it difficult for me concerning our daughter no matter what I do. Any professional advice would be appreciated.

 

[army judge]

I am reluctant to advise you, due to the volatility of this situation.

I make that assessment based upon your comments.

Do you want to risk your daughter's safety on the advice of a stranger over the Internet?

Do not do it.

Hire an attorney and consult with a good psychiatrist, then make a decision.

Yeah, it will be costly.

But, isn't your daughter's life worth the cost?

 

[Proserpina]

Realistically, your attorney knows the score here - he knows that the GAL's recommendation will carry an awful lot of weight in court and if you buck that recommendation it could make you look like the bad guy.

 

[disagreeable]

Pro is 100% correct. I would politely make the court aware of your reservations, but offer to accept the recommendations of the GAL, until something is proven to be different.