Custody Legal

Question: How can a law student get prenuptial agreements and children custody legal experience? Where should one volunteer or intern to get experience for resume in those fields? How to find potential employers in these fields, at least as a legal assistant before one passes the bar?

Answer: No lawyer or firm is going to practice only in the areas of prenuptial agreements and child custody. You will need to look for experience in the more broad area of family law. I clerked at a small private firm in the summer after 1L. I had to volunteer my time. I had two subsequent internships at public interest law firms (legal aid and one other.) Legal Aid does a lot of family law, and the offices near me are often looking for law student volunteers. After law school graduation, I found my first job practicing juvenile law on my law school job listings. I wanted to practice family law, but the job market was tough and I didn't have any opportunities in that practice area. I practiced juvenile law for a year, while networking in the legal community, and then landed a job at a family law firm.

Question: DHS me took to court & give my dad temp custody of my 3 kids but my ex had custody not me. his custody legal? Dhs should have taken the correct custodial parent to court, right? how can they take custody away from someone who didnt even have custody then give it to someone else? does this mean my dads custody of my kids is not legallly binding? Does their father/ my ex, still actually have legal custody? why could he not just go and get our children and move them back to indiana with us? would this be legal for us to do or would their be negative legal consequences?

Answer: Your question is not very clear, but it appears to confuse legal custody with actual custody. I am assuming your ex had legal custody but did not actually care for the children. Obviously, if your husband did not have physical custody the children cannot be taken from him. Your question is best put to someone who is familiar with both custody orders, like your attorney or the judge, but to me, it sounds like you are trying to make a nonsense argument. Nonsense arguments only work on people without any sense.

Question: Can I transfer one of my childs dependancy status to my parents and not loose legal custody or guardianship? My father works for a major University. One of the perks of this university is free tuition for the dependants of employees. My daughter is 16, and we are considering transferring the "dependancy status" to my parents, her grand parents, for free tuition to this University. (approx 58,000 per year). Are there any other legal ramifications I should consider?

Answer: They'll have to show some sort of court document to prove they have guardianship which means if they want to be asses they can so if you're not on the greatest terms don't do it. They also will be expected to claim her on their taxes.

Question: Any way to get into the AF as a male single parent without giving up legal custody? Is there any way possible for a male single parent to join the air force and still not give up custody of his child? Single father as in not married to the mother. Mother has full physical custody of child, father has only split legal custody.

Answer: no. you may no thave ANY form of custody at all.

Question: If I was born out of wedlock, who has legal custody if father signed birth certificate? How does he get custody? My mother has not died. I just want to know who has custody.

Answer: Usually the child will abide with the mother, unless otherwise requested. However, if he signed the birth certificate then the child belongs equally to both parents. They have joint custody, and are both allowed to see the child, and make decisions for the child. The only way to change that is if one or both parents go to court for custody, visitation, child surport, ext. That is the only way to get full custody. And they rarely evoke parental rights unless the parent is a straight up crack head (and even then it is hard) :D Hope this answers your question

Question: No legal custody established, can mother withhold visitation? If there is no legal custody established, can the mother legally withhold visitation from the father until he pays child support (no court order for child support, either)? This is in Maryland, US. One man, two women. :)

Answer: Sure, You don't have to let the kids go,he would have to take you to court to get it...Legally. He is also in his rights to keep them and not let you see them. You need to get it all legal so that there is no problems down the line. Is it right, NO. Think of your kids. As annoying and angry it can make you, think of your kids. Take him to court and established child support and then have it taken directly out of his paycheck.

Question: Can my father, who doesn't have legal custody of me, consent to my emancipation? I am 16 years of age. I have alot of emotional problems at home and to cut a long story short.. My father agrees that emancipation would be in my best interest. My mother won't hand over custody to him but i would really love to move in with him. Is it possible that he can consent to my emancipation?

Answer: First poster is correct, however there is nothing to stop you from contacting the family court where your custody order was issued and asking how you can file an opinion on how you feel about the current custody arrangement. In many states, this is possible and the judge would take your request under consideration, if your reasons are well thought out and thoughtfully presented. In the end, the judge will rule in favor of what S/he feels is in your best interests, but if you present a convincing case, a change in custody just might happen. Custody and emancipation are two different issues. Unless you can prove that you are emotionally and financially able to provide your sole support (without help from dad, mom and/or the state), you won't be emancipated.

Question: What is the procedure to give the court legal custody of my child? I am not in a position to raise a child who was recently brought to me. Where do I go or whom do I see who can help me figure this out? I need to relequish my parental rights because I am not in a position to care for this child. The child is 15 years old. Can an attorney help me and who can help me with very little income?

Answer: Call the Child Protective Services in your area and tell them about your plight. Check out their website for your state on Google if you want to know something about them first. They may be able to get the kid into a foster home or group home. You might be able to get a court appointed attorney to help you deal with it.

Question: i want legal custody of my best friends child, how do i start the process? my best friend and i agree, me having custody is best for the child. how do we go about this legally and inexpensively i want this custody to be only temporary. she has no family...the father is incarcerated. she is going to rehab for about 6 months. and i have been keeping the baby for more than 1 year

Answer: You will need to contact an attorney in your local that handles guardianship proceedings.

Question: Can a parent sign over legal custody of a child to a stepfather without the biological father's consent? The biological dad has never paid child support and has nothing to do with the child. The only family the child knows is her mom, sister and step dad (who she calls Daddy) so if something happened to the mother, the child would be put with bio-dad's family who are total strangers. Can the mom basically let the stepfather adopt the child from her so the family wouldn't be split up if anything happens to the mom?

Answer: Only if the mother legally has sole custody.

Question: Does anyone know the required steps to get legal custody of a child? im currently seeking to get custody, temporarily or permanent, of my little brother from my mother...he's 4 years old

Answer: She has to be proven unfit and unredeemable in essence. You have to prove to the judge that she is unfit and there is no chance of her changing. And if you want a real shot at it, you need an attorney. Even then, even if you prove she is on drugs, verbally abusive or physically abusive the courts favor parent/child reunificiation and will give her a plan to follow. Unless it is some extreme situation, they will give her a chance to change. You also have to prove yourself fit to care for a child financially, emotionally, physically, etc. This usually involves bank statements, info about your work and what you will do with the child when not at work and a home study done by CPS.

Question: Is legal custody needed to register in a new school? I moved out of my mom's house at 14 and I am living with my grandparents but I need to switch into the school in their district. My mom won't sign papers that say my grandma has full custody. What do I do that can get this process moving quickly? Please help. 10 Points.

Answer: Your grandparents can file a child in need of care motion with the court, along with a request for child support. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Question: If I have legal custody of a child that is not mine, will the child still be eligible for foster care benefits? We have plans to adopt this child, and Child Protective services were on there way to pick the child up, but she was not actually in their custody. will this child receive benefits from foster care until we adopt her?

Answer: If she is not a foster child then she will not receive benefits. If you are planning to adopt her anyway, she'll lose benefits so you might as well just take of her.

Question: What chance does a mentally unbalanced grandmother have of getting legal custody of grandson?? Please advise!? What are the odds of the court awarding a mentally unstable (manic depressive/bi-polar) grandmother custody of grandson? Both mother and father of grandson are mentally healthy and stable individuals. Is there any chance that this woman would win in court? Even for partial custody?? If you know the law, PLEASE give me peace of mind (and tell me she doesn't have a shot in h3ll) !!

Answer: Children are not "pawns" to be awarded to anyone who files suit.. it MUST BE PROVEN that the parents are both unfit and unable to care for the child. "I can do MORE" for the child" is not criteria, if the parents are not found unfit. You might want to google Troxel vs Granville, which clearly defined parents constitutional rights to their children, as long as they are fit parents. If grandma is raising that much hell, I would get a restraining order against her. I am not a lawyer.. and there can be parts of the story that I do not know here. My reason for knowledge on this, is 3+ yrs of legal research against another grandmother, who sadly had enough money and ability to lie, that she succeeded in scaring the parents into a coerced voluntary relinquishment. Once they signed that paper, they dug themselves into hell. I also believe the grandmother in my situation is mentally ill, however of the type that is hidden and not diagnosed. Keep in mind.. one key factor for diagnosis of bipolar.. is grandiosity (exaggerated and false sense of authority/ power). My personal observation and opinion.. the state legislators who PASSED laws re grandparents rights... should burn in hell, for creating a nightmare of grandparents who run around, threatening stable parents for rights that do not, and never did, exist. If a parent is unfit, it should be up to cps to judge and take action. You will have people who tell you "grandparents have rights too". The federal Supreme Court has already said that no such rights exist int he constitution. Drop me a note via my profile, if you like. If I live close to you, I'll pay your gas money to court. Don't make the same mistake my kids made... put the woman in jail, if that is what it takes to keep her from destroying your family.

Question: Can i write a legal custody document without the court sytem being involved? Im having a baby with an ex girlfriend, we are not together and will never be. We have decided that we will both have 50/50 on custody and on everything. She will give me nothing and i will give her nothing monetarily. The baby will spend half the time with me and half the time with the mom. I want make some sort of agreement in writing that will be valid. I dont want to go to court because there is no need but we want to write something up so that we both are 50/50 until the baby is 18 and decides whom he/she wants to be with. Since people change and often have a change of heart we decided to write up something now that will portect us both now and in the future. Can this be done without lawyers and courts, can we write something up and have in notorized and will the courts validate a notorized document, help me out here!!Thanks

Answer: Write it up and have it notorized, that way if either of you ever change your mind you have documentation in writing. That doesn't mean it can't be changed by a judge but at least this way she can't hit you up for back child support one day.

Question: If my dad has legal custody of me, is there still a way for me to decide to live with my mom? What legal process do you have to go through, and would a judge accept this: I want to live with my mom because I love her so much, that it hurts more and more every day I can't be with her. I know it was decided that my mom was an unfit parent in the past, but she has changed in every way. I am 16, and I know right from wrong. Please, judge. I am begging you, please let me live with my mom.

Answer: Your mom has to hire a lawyer and go before the judge to get it over turned.

Question: not married need advice on getting legal custody in NC father on birth certicate? planning to leave Father of child, worried that he might try taking baby without permission, in my state father on birth certificate has same rights as i do without a court issuing custody. Any advice on how i get custody before leaving??

Answer: You can't leave the state without getting a court order changed. They do this to keep the parents, when seperated, from moving far away and not allowing access to the child to the other parent.

Question: Child custody legal papers. How long do I keep them? Papers date from April 1989 to June 2000 (the last time we were ever in court). Child involved with these court papers will turn 21 on their next birthday (and isn't currently in college or even planning to go) Do I still need to hold on to all of these papers after all this time?

Answer: I'd keep them and any monetary statements regarding child support. You never know when this will happen: When I was 20, married and with 2 children, the courts put a warrant out on my dad for non-payment of support, totally around $2000. They were trying to also seize his vehicle. My mother went to the courts and said she didn't want the money, however they still insisted on collecting it. My mother, knowing my dad didn't have the money, paid the amount to me. I laundered it thru my dad's checking account, writing a check to the court. Some 9 months later Mom still didn't get the money back. She had her attorney file papers to investigate. They said it wasn't paid. I got her the copy of the cancelled check with the court stamp on the back. They didn't know what to say. They couldn't find the record of the payment, even with me standing there in front of them with a receipt printed off their computers, signed by their clerk. They claimed an updated computer system was to blame and wanted to know, giggle and grrrr, when the payment was going to be made!!!! The attorney took over and when all was said and done, when I was 23 my dad finally got a letter in the mail saying he didn't owe any more child support. Mom finally got her money and successfully sued the court employees they found at fault for her attorney fees and interest on the $2000.

Question: Is there good legal help for a father seeking custody in Arizona? It seems in Arizona that a father is considered the secondary parent, even when the mother has shown to be unstable. I am in no way wealthy, but need to seek legal counsel to gain custody of my daughter. Does anyone know of any resources?

Answer: Get a fathers rights lawyer... I'm a second wife to a man with 3 little boys. He really messed up and got a cheap lawyer.. Now we have a fathers rights attorney that I found on the internet and she has helped us tremendously! Does the child live with you or the mother right now? Who left? If I were you, I would google everything I could about fathers getting custody. May the good Lord be with you during this time!

Question: my 15 year olds, mother was arrested and will probably be in jail for many years, how do i get legal custody? I don't want to have to deal with the mothers family, so i need custody. I have been very active in her life. She lived with me 2 years ago. Oh yeah, i am in florida.

Answer: Try contacting social services. You will wind up having to go to court and if the judge feels that she should loose custody then it may happen. I believe the mother will have to sign her rights over if the judge does not feel the child is in danger. The hardest part may be getting her to sign her rights over. I would try contacting DCF (Department of Child and Family) first since you are in FL. My sister just went through this with her sister-in-laws son. I may take a while to get resolved but do your best. The fact that she is in jail (depending on what is is) may really help you! Try going to this website. Good luck!!