custody

[coley]

okay this is a long story but i will make it as short as i can. my boyfriend has a son 5 years old and his mother has full custody of him, BUT we have him ALL THE TIME she might see him 3 or 4 times out of the month. he has had him for 2 years now, he dosnt pay child support anymore since he has had him for the past 2 years, but she is a unfit mother, she got pulled over last year with a dui and driving on a suspend licence for a year, that means the child was in the car with her when she was driving for that year. the situation is geting worse we were having easter dinner at my parents house last night and she comes over demanding her child when he was eating dinner, well, we said we would bring him over when he was finished, she proceded to call the police and then the guy she was with in a truck spun his tires out of our drive was and hit my dad with his truck mirror, the cops showed up and my boyfriend and the mother had to settle it there so my boyfriend had to give him to here right then and there, well she pulls this whole " i have custody of him but how, i mean we have him all the time she dont want him. i dont know what to do , we went to the court house today and they said that that it would be 250 dollers to get new packet for child cusody or 50 dollers for a exicting cusody case, well if we want custody dose that mean its going to be a new case or can we add on the excisting case of her cusody, im so confused and this is very stress full for not only us but for the little boy he dont know if hes coming or going you know, so were trying to fiure this out, we dont have alot of money to deal with for this eather so thats kinda hard but if anyone has advice please contact me!!!!

cutie11611@yahoo.com

I have no idea what a "packet for child custody" is, or why it would cost $250.
In Ohio, you simply file a motion for a change in custody. Ideally, you have an attorney write it for you, but you can do it yourself if you absolutely cannot afford an attorney. If you do this yourself, then you will need to have some examples of what to file and what to request, and what the required format is (perhaps this is what is in the packet...). If the packet gives you everything you need to file for a change in custody, then bear in mind that $250 is actually pretty cheap compared to an attorney who would charge $250+ per hour.
Now, what will you need in order to succeed?
First, you will need LOTS of documentation that the child was at your house the majority of the time. Paperwork is best (reciepts from doctors visits, etc...).
Second, you need to demonstrate that a change in circumstance has occured which justifies a modification of the existing child support orders. In your case, then change in circumstance would be that the child no longer lives with its mother.
Third, you should file for an immediate temporary change in custody. Otherwise, the mother's immediate action will be to take the child back to her house until the hearing, which may be three to six months away. During that time, she gets the opportunity to show that she it the primary caregiver, and then it is doubtful that the judge would change the orders.
Fourth, you should file for an immediate temporary change to the child support orders. If you boyfriend has stopped paying child support because the child is no longer living with the mother, that is still a violation of court orders and the mother could have him held in contempt as well as sue for back support.
Fifth, your BOYFRIEND must be the person to do all this. If you are the one pushing for this and doing all the work, the court will catch on to that and there is no way they are going to give him custody.