Father Suing for Parental Responsibilities Reinstatment After 7 Years

[Dogmatique]

I disagree that it makes a difference, actually. Dad still has the right to change his mind at any point and ask the court to modify. If he wants visitation, he's going to get visitation. Dad has a Constitutionally-protected right to parent his child unless there are serious issues of abuse present.

Again, I'm concerned on your behalf that your attorney wants to try and use a SOL that simply doesn't apply to family court. Is your attorney just trying to scare Dad into forgetting about the whole thing?

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Dad certainly did not waive all future rights. Not at all.

[gam]

I disagree that it makes a difference, actually. Dad still has the right to change his mind at any point and ask the court to modify. If he wants visitation, he's going to get visitation. Dad has a Constitutionally-protected right to parent his child unless there are serious issues of abuse present.

Again, I'm concerned on your behalf that your attorney wants to try and use a SOL that simply doesn't apply to family court. Is your attorney just trying to scare Dad into forgetting about the whole thing?

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Dad certainly did not waive all future rights. Not at all.

I agree with all of this, all dad did was give mom sole custody. He has a right to modify that. He has been back in the childs life for awhile, he has had a few overnights a year, plus some other parenting time.

He surely will be able to get more parenting time and increase those overnights. He also has a good shot at getting joint legal custody, because courts prefer to have the parents jointly making the decisions for the child and working together.

I also have concern on what the lawyer is trying to do, I don't see that working either in family court.

Paying or not paying his child support has nothing to do with this. If he is not paying what he was ordered, you need to deal with that through child support enforcement and have them file show causes. You can also file to modify child support if the amount he was ordered to pay is low and he now makes a better income. Regardless he pays something each month, he didn't walk completely away from this obligation either.

A standard parenting time order would benefit all parties involved, everything is set and it will give dad a set regular schedule with the child. I would think you would want that mom. Joint legal is not the end of the world, it will require you and dad to work together, come to joint decisions on important matters in the childs life, it's part of co-parenting. Again I would think you would want this to mom. Yes dad has not been the best to this point, but he now is asking to step up. Personally I would save myself a lot of money, time and stress and just work out a new parenting time schedule with dad. I would also offer to start working with him and keeping him informed and discussing major decisions, tell him if all goes well and he follows through working with you and doing a set parenting time schedule that you would have no problem giving him joint legal. Save a lot of money and stress(court is not fun, it only adds to issues)by working out your own agreement and eventually filing it and having the Judge sign off on it.

[Dogmatique]

Truly, gam, I'm very very concerned. I have no idea why any half-decent attorney (c'mon, a 1L knows better) would attempt to bring contract law and a SOL into a family court pleading. For heaven's sake I can see the attorney being sanctioned for doing that. S/he should know better.

Mom, please listen to us.

Custody and visitation, as with child support, are always fluid. There is only one way in which a parent can permanently waive future custody, visitation or child support and that's by a TPR (termination of parental rights). This isn't so much about the rights of the parents, as it is about the rights of the children. The children aren't cars or puppies, and their welfare is really the only thing that family court cares about. To strip the children of their rights in such a way is not only against public policy in general, but - when you think about it - is grossly unfair and some might go as far as calling it abuse.

Mom, please get a second or third opinion from a couple of family law attorneys and definitely ask your attorney to show you the statute allowing what s/he is suggesting.

(It shouldn't be too hard, since none exist)

There are situations where a SOL can apply, but these have to do with child support/arrearages. Not custody/parenting time.

[flyingron]

An order from the court is not a contract. It never expires (until it or the court says so).

[Dogmatique]

Now I'm wondering if the attorney is actually calling the child support order a written contract, and is now trying to apply it to custody/visitation.

Either way, whether Mom is misunderstanding what the attorney said or the attorney actually did say that, they're just flat out wrong.

Oddly, Mom responded yesterday but did not answer what the attorney said during their meeting.