Sole Custody- How to win Sole Custody in MD.

[Anonymous]

Good Morning everyone!

I recently had to show up to court for a pendent lite hearing. When the court was called the Judge requested both lawyers meet with him in chambers. They spent about one hour discussing. When the lawyers returned I spoke with my lawyer and he said the Judge is proposing supervised visitation for the father, and the father is submitting to an evaluation before the hearing.

I really did not want to agree to it. But felt cornered and forced into agreeing into supervised visitation for the father. The father had seen a physiatrist for many years is taking medications and has threatened to kill himself via text. All of this is before the courts but yet the evaluation was not ordered before the access. Another important factor this man meets all kinds of women online and I afraid that he will introduce these women to the kid. Are there any suggestions? Does my lawyer have a right to report everything to my what occurred in chambers?

[Anonymous]

Supervised visitation....

So you goal is to never have your kids see their father again?

[Anonymous]

You have to understand that the court looks after the best interest of the child involved. Him meeting women online has nothing to do with his parenting. The judge took into account that he has been seen by a medical professional and may not be the most stable mentally, which is why he said supervised visitation. My suggestion is to not fight it, you will be wasting time and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to understand that the court looks after the best interest of the child involved. Him meeting women online has nothing to do with his parenting. The judge took into account that he has been seen by a medical professional and may not be the most stable mentally, which is why he said supervised visitation. My suggestion is to not fight it, you will be wasting time and money.

This.

And to be honest OP, you sound a bit crazy yourself. Did you really type "Does my lawyer have to report everything to me that was said in chambers?" YES! You have sole custody. Right now the children can only see their father when someone else is present to supervise.

And just so you know, a lot of really healthy, normal people meet others online. It's not a sign that someone is an irresponsible, crazy parent.

[Anonymous]

OP, I know what you mean.Our exes sound similar except mine isn't suicidal. (I recently learned that mine met his fiance when both were inpatient psychiatric patients.I didn't even know he had been on a 72 hour hold in the spring!)

The best thing you can do is to allow the process to work itself through and document every single thing along the way. Being mentally ill isn't enough for the court to sever parental rights. You have to show your child is being harmed.

[Anonymous]

You DO have sole custody. Supervised visitation is the most minimal thing that a parent would ever get. So stop complaining, cooperate in choosing a good supervisor, make sure that you do everything the judge says, so that this arrangement can become permanent.

[Anonymous]

OP, do yourself a favor and rely on your lawyer.

[Anonymous]

...you are afraid that he'll bring his new girlfriends along to supervised visitation? You're right, it does sound like an awesome date.

Cool down. Supervised visitation is a win for you. Take your win and move forward so you don't sound like the crazy one.

P.S. A lot of great parents see psychiatrists and meet people online.

[Anonymous]

You are very lucky to get supervised visitation. Many jurisdictions have cut back on that due to lack of funding. Be grateful your child won't be alone with him.

[Anonymous]

OP,

Sole custody does not mean zero visitation. As for your right to know what was discussed in chambers, ask your lawyer. It was probably a history of the case, your child's father's mental health record, etc. You could ask that your child's father not bring anyone to visitation, anyone but grandparents if his parents are in the picture. (But do you think he'd bring a woman he met online to supervised visitation?) Is your ex asking for unsupervised visitation? What I'd discuss is how easy would it be to move to that after good behavior in a supervised visitation setting. That to me is the key question to discuss with your attorney. Fighting supervised visitation will make you look unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

OP, ignore the mean posters. I"m sorry you have to read that shit while you're going through something already so stressful.

You are lucky that the judge is recommending supervised visitation. It means he agrees there is something seriously wrong with your DC's father. You are getting the best possible outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to understand that the court looks after the best interest of the child involved. Him meeting women online has nothing to do with his parenting. The judge took into account that he has been seen by a medical professional and may not be the most stable mentally, which is why he said supervised visitation. My suggestion is to not fight it, you will be wasting time and money.

This.

And to be honest OP, you sound a bit crazy yourself. Did you really type "Does my lawyer have to report everything to me that was said in chambers?" YES! You have sole custody. Right now the children can only see their father when someone else is present to supervise.

And just so you know, a lot of really healthy, normal people meet others online. It's not a sign that someone is an irresponsible, crazy parent.

She does not sound crazy at all. You sound hateful and sadistic to say that about someone in the thick of this process. Shame on you PP. It would have been nice if you bothered to read the actual post OP wrote -- her DC's father has threatened suicide. Let's see how you feel about your DC's father's mental health after something like that, or if you are in the mood for reading some busybody's snide comments about your concerns for your children then.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the previous posters, you having physical custody with your ex having only supervised visitation is about as good as it's going to get. To get out of any visitation, you'd basically have to prove to the judge that he poses such a severe physical threat, even having a third party there to supervise would be insufficient to keep your child safe. It doesn't sound like you have that situation, so I think the only option is to be grateful for supervised rather than unsupervised visitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, ignore the mean posters. I"m sorry you have to read that shit while you're going through something already so stressful.

You are lucky that the judge is recommending supervised visitation. It means he agrees there is something seriously wrong with your DC's father. You are getting the best possible outcome.

No post was mean

[Anonymous]

You are already getting the best possible outcome. My ex was convicted of domestic violence against me. He is also a diagnosed schizophrenic on medication, and he was still granted partial custody. If I were you, I would be very thankful that it's supervised visitation.