Child Abandonment Laws

**CColalella** · 07-05-2012, 01:02 PM

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Pennsylvania

I need to file for full custody of my 2 youngest sons. Their father has repeatedly walked out for the past 5 years and came back into our lives, but I finally had enough and put an end to it. He walked out 5 months ago and never said a word and left state. He came back 2 weeks later and had tried to take our oldest son with him and I refused to let him take him because he had abandoned his family. He has never supported our children financially in any way and he has been absent more than present with our youngest son. I do not want him to have any type of custody or visitations with our sons because of a few reasons, our oldest son is already emotionally torn apart from him walking in and out of his life. He is a drug addict and I refuse to have it around my children. He has no stability in his life he bounces from home to home finding whatever woman he can prey on next to take care of him. He has 6 kids that we know of and does not support them physically, emotionally, or financially in any way. I want protection for my children and to ensure that he can not just come take them any time he wants and that I cant do any thing about it and I do not trust him with them alone he is irresponsible. What can I do?

**aardvarc** · 07-05-2012, 01:41 PM

Quoting CColalella

I need to file for full custody of my 2 youngest sons. Their father has repeatedly walked out for the past 5 years and came back into our lives,

Did he kick the door in, or did you willingly take him back? If you kept willingly taking him back, then his history isn't going to work against him in court. If you were willing, the court can't assume that it's judgment is any better than yours, who knows him intimately. Whatever preceded the FINAL "leaving him" is all that'll be relevant. When you effectively "forgave" whatever transgressions and brought him back into the family with your children, you made his past effectively a non-issue. Current events may be of interest.

but I finally had enough and put an end to it. He walked out 5 months ago and never said a word and left state. He came back 2 weeks later and had tried to take our oldest son with him and I refused to let him take him because he had abandoned his family.

Did you file for divorce, or were you not married to the father of these children? That'll make a HUGE difference in how things play out. And what rights dad currently has in regard to the children.

He has never supported our children financially in any way and he has been absent more than present with our youngest son.

If there's not a child support order in place that is being violated, the court won't care. He's only LEGALLY obligated to pay what a court orders him to pay. If you never sought child support, you need to do so immediately - otherwise you have no complaint about non-support.

I do not want him to have any type of custody or visitations with our sons because of a few reasons, our oldest son is already emotionally torn apart from him walking in and out of his life.

Get that out of your head right now. Unless he's got convictions for violent crimes or crimes directly against children, he's GOING to get visitation - even if it's only supervised visitation. No, the court isn't going to let you cut this man, whom you returned to repeatedly, out of the lives of his children.

He is a drug addict and I refuse to have it around my children.

Then supervised visitation may be appropriate.

He has no stability in his life he bounces from home to home finding whatever woman he can prey on next to take care of him. He has 6 kids that we know of and does not support them physically, emotionally, or financially in any way.

And yet YOU had children with him, AND repeatedly kept taking him back in. If you want to argue that in front of the judge, be prepared for the judge to feel that YOU and your decision making are as dangerous for your children as the man you're complaining about. With this sort of history, for every finger you're pointing at dad, there are 4 pointing back at you. Don't go into court with this strategy. Judges tend to spit when they yell.

I want protection for my children and to ensure that he can not just come take them any time he wants and that I cant do any thing about it and I do not trust him with them alone he is irresponsible. What can I do?

You file for custody and child support, and if you've got some sort of proof that dad presents a danger to the children, you ask the court to make dad's visitation supervised. If you and dad are currently married, then the only way to stop him from taking his children any time he wants, is to immediately file for divorce and custody at the same time.