I want my son back but I am afraid to go to court...

[Handy_devin]

My son lived with me for the past year and one day his mom picked him up for the weekend. She called me the next day and said that I can not have him back. She would not let him go to the last week of school or to summer school. Now I have to meet with a truancy officer next week. I want my son back. I made a good life for him. He Has two stepsisters that love him. When I talk to him on the phone he says that he wants to come home that he misses me and my wife and his sisters. I am afraid to go to court because I know that in custody battles the judge sides with the mom. Im scared and I want my baby back. What should I do??

[Gbyte]

The judge doesn't always side with the mom. If you had went immediately after she refused to return the child, you could have gotten an exparte order to have your child return to your care immediately. Now that you've delayed...maybe not.

If there is no custody order in effect now, one needs to be put in place. Get an attorney on a payment plan.

Originally Posted by Handy_devin My son lived with me for the past year and one day his mom picked him up for the weekend. She called me the next day and said that I can not have him back. She would not let him go to the last week of school or to summer school. Now I have to meet with a truancy officer next week. I want my son back. I made a good life for him. He Has two stepsisters that love him. When I talk to him on the phone he says that he wants to come home that he misses me and my wife and his sisters. I am afraid to go to court because I know that in custody battles the judge sides with the mom. Im scared and I want my baby back. What should I do??

Wow! This sounds scary! The smartest thing is move FAST! If you can't afford a lawyer, go to court and file for custody on your own. It is much harder, but it's better than her being a bum mom all these years, then coming back to reap the reward of the wonderful child you have raised. If you can't afford a lawyer, hopefully she can't either, and it will be more fair. The faster you move, the better. That way you don't allow the child to gain "legal residence" with the mother, since you neither of you have custody.

If you don't move, you basically hand her your son on a platter. If he already lived with you, the courts are not likely to remove him from your home and give him to her. Plus, he is at the age that the courts are likely to hear his preference as well.

I am sorry you have to deal with someone so selfish and is willing to emotionally harm her own child in this way.

GOOD LUCK.

[BByte]

If you were not married, or there is no court ordered custody, unfortunately you are going to have a tough battle as she is considered to have sole custody until court/DNA and custody established.

If you were married, even if there was no court custody agreement, you have a good case, as you have obviously been raising the child. You also have a case for parental kidnapping. You have a right of custody and she took child without your permission and is depriving you of your parental rights. Most police departments dont fully understand the law, but even the mere pursuit could be used to get your child back.