Obtaining Custody Due to Abandonment

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Louisiana
If the mother of a minor child leaves the family home in the middle of the night for another man, leaving the minor child in the care of the father... What kind of chances does the father have for obtaining sole custody of the child?

How long ago did Mom leave?

Are they married?

Is the father established legally?

What you describe is NOT abandonment.

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Quoting Ohiogal

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What you describe is NOT abandonment.

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It is abandonment of the household, even if not "child abandonment" in the context of a child neglect-type case or allegation.

If in fact mom has effectively ceded the marital residence and primary custody to the father, the father should be in a good position to file a custody case asking for a status quo order, and to potentially leverage the status quo into a permanent custody order. As custody cases are very fact-dependent, it's difficult to say more than that.

Actually you cannot even say that it is abandonment of the household. Why? Because we don't know how long mom has been gone, when she left, if she has returned to the household for anything or any other relevant facts. Should dad file asking for custody? Yes. As part of a divorce case IF the parties were married. All we know is that mom left in the middle of the night. Was that last night? Was that two nights ago?

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Quoting NeeNee1972

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My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Louisiana
If the mother of a minor child leaves the family home in the middle of the night for another man, leaving the minor child in the care of the father... What kind of chances does the father have for obtaining sole custody of the child?

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Are you talking about mom moving out of the marital home in the middle of the night, or are you talking about mom leaving the home for a few hours to see someone else?

The answers to the above questions and the amount of time mom has been gone, if its the former, makes a big difference.

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Quoting Ohiogal

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Actually you cannot even say that it is abandonment of the household.

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As "abandonment of the household" is not a term of art, there is actually no reason not to use it to describe short-term abandonment, although I will reconsider the use of that term if in fact it turns out that mom snuck out for a few hours and was back in time for breakfast.

As dad made no mention of mom's coming home, I think it's reasonable to infer that mom remains absent from the household -- although having him clarify her present location would certainly be helpful. As long as mom remains absent, dad is in a good position to seek a status quo order.