Custody of My Child

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Florida
County: Broward

My daughter's mother recently died and her parents (my child's grandparents) want to have custody of my her. They have filed the following:

Case Type: Temp Custody by Extended Family +
Sub Type: Temp Custody by Ext Family Pro Se
Filing Date: 03/16/2010

Their reasoning is that I have had some financial shortcomings which have resulted in my child support being behind by 6 months. Irregardless of this I still made several trips to see my daughter which cost me several $100s during the same time period.

Everybody tells me that since I am her biological father and don't have any record (felonies or misdemeanors) of any type nor do I have any other issues such as drug/alcohol abuse, I should be able to have custody and raise her with no problem.

Is it true that I should be given custody of my daughter and if so what form do I need to file? Thank you.

She's your daughter, so I would think that barring some serious errors on your part, I don't know why you wouldn't be granted custody if you filed for it. Hope one of the legal eagles here can help you in the right direction.

OP, hire an attorney.

If the grandparents have more of a solid relationship with your child than you have lately, they actually might have standing to get custody.

Thank you. Anyone else have more information to share?

As the father of this child, I would think that you're rights to her would be stronger than anyone else. Call an atty NOW! You haven't said how old your dd is, but you have the RIGHT to care for her as her dad. You said that you have maintained a relationship with your dd, and in most states custodial rights transfer to you with your ex's death. From what I've been able to find online, your rights as her father supercede all others. Good Luck!

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Quoting responsible-father

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Thank you. Anyone else have more information to share?

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How often/long have you seen them in the past year?

How old are they?

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Quoting mamabear2102003

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As the father of this child, I would think that you're rights to her would be stronger than anyone else. Call an atty NOW! You haven't said how old your dd is, but you have the RIGHT to care for her as her dad. You said that you have maintained a relationship with your dd, and in most states custodial rights transfer to you with your ex's death. From what I've been able to find online, your rights as her father supercede all others. Good Luck!

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Yes, he does - but again, if the grandparents have acted as de facto parents they actually do have standing to sue for custody.

It honestly depends on just how much of a Dad he's been.

Agreed. If he has only played a small part in the childs life for the last 14 years, he's got a problem. If she's young, and the only issue is child support, this will change the spin of things.

BUT....if he has had trouble making child support payments, which represent only a PORTION of the expenses actually incurred in raising a child, it doesn't bode well for him to try to tell a court that he is capable of paying for ALL of such expenses (and believe me, that'll be the very FIRST thing out of the mouth of the grandparent's attorney). Courts are perfectly happy to hand custody over to a parent with a relationship with the child and who can at least minimally support same....they are equally loathe to remove a child from a stable environment and hand it over to a relative stranger who can't support it (an support arrears speaks heavily to the second point, especially if the arrears have accrued recently, such as falling further and further behind over the last year instead of getting that balance paid down slowly). The pattern of arrears and the level of relationship already existing with the child will be the swing factors, all else being equal.

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Quoting aardvarc

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BUT....if he has had trouble making child support payments, which represent only a PORTION of the expenses actually incurred in raising a child, it doesn't bode well for him to try to tell a court that he is capable of paying for ALL of such expenses (and believe me, that'll be the very FIRST thing out of the mouth of the grandparent's attorney). Courts are perfectly happy to hand custody over to a parent with a relationship with the child and who can at least minimally support same....they are equally loathe to remove a child from a stable environment and hand it over to a relative stranger who can't support it (an support arrears speaks heavily to the second point, especially if the arrears have accrued recently, such as falling further and further behind over the last year instead of getting that balance paid down slowly). The pattern of arrears and the level of relationship already existing with the child will be the swing factors, all else being equal.

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Absolutely!

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Quoting responsible-father

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My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Florida
County: Broward

My daughter's mother recently died and her parents (my child's grandparents) want to have custody of my her. They have filed the following:

Case Type: Temp Custody by Extended Family +
Sub Type: Temp Custody by Ext Family Pro Se
Filing Date: 03/16/2010

Their reasoning is that I have had some financial shortcomings which have resulted in my child support being behind by 6 months. Irregardless of this I still made several trips to see my daughter which cost me several $100s during the same time period.

Everybody tells me that since I am her biological father and don't have any record (felonies or misdemeanors) of any type nor do I have any other issues such as drug/alcohol abuse, I should be able to have custody and raise her with no problem.

Is it true that I should be given custody of my daughter and if so what form do I need to file? Thank you.

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You need to get a consult right away. You can get a consult by calling the Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-342-8011.

Being behind on your CS *should not* make any difference regarding custody. However, time spent with your daughter will.
How often do you see your daughter?
If you see her and have been active in her life for a long period of time, you can file and ask for an emergency hearing to determine at least temp custody.
However, you really need to get that consult before you do.

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Quoting mamabear2102003

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As the father of this child, I would think that you're rights to her would be stronger than anyone else. Call an atty NOW! You haven't said how old your dd is, but you have the RIGHT to care for her as her dad. You said that you have maintained a relationship with your dd, and in most states custodial rights transfer to you with your ex's death. From what I've been able to find online, your rights as her father supercede all others. Good Luck!

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Thank you. She is 7 years old. I did call an attorney but my problem is that I can't afford attorney fees. I went through Legal Aid and had a consult today. They told me that they don't represent the parent that does not have custody of the child. But they did tell me what paperwork I need to file. The Legal Aid attorney also advised me to get a lawyer since the grandparents have already hired one. Any ideas on how I can get an attorney to represent me. I was thinking that if there is any insurance money (which I don't know, don't care to know, and can't access information about) that the lawyer could find out about and get paid their fees from. God knows all I want is my daughter.

Any more ideas? Thank you.

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Quoting responsible-father

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Thank you. She is 7 years old. I did call an attorney but my problem is that I can't afford attorney fees. I went through Legal Aid and had a consult today. They told me that they don't represent the parent that does not have custody of the child. But they did tell me what paperwork I need to file. The Legal Aid attorney also advised me to get a lawyer since the grandparents have already hired one. Any ideas on how I can get an attorney to represent me. I was thinking that if there is any insurance money (which I don't know, don't care to know, and can't access information about) that the lawyer could find out about and get paid their fees from. God knows all I want is my daughter.

Any more ideas? Thank you.

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I highly doubt you'll find an attorney to do that - but start calling your State Bar Association at 1-800-342-8011 as Xena suggested.

Do you have a court order for visitation? How about a number for the court that the action was filed in? If this was my child, I'd be finding someone, ANYONE, that could outline my rights for me.

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Quoting mamabear2102003

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Do you have a court order for visitation? How about a number for the court that the action was filed in? If this was my child, I'd be finding someone, ANYONE, that could outline my rights for me.

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No I don't have a court order for visitation. I used to visit her whenever I was able and was not prevented from that by anyone.

I have gone to the court and called them as well. I will be filing several documents after today's consult with the lawyer.

Maybe there is another website or organization on which lawyers give free and good advice?

There are actually attorneys on this site, as well as several other sites.

However an attorney cannot give you specific, individualized advice unless you actually consult directly with that attorney. As with us laypeople, all that can happen is you're offered general information to help.