Pennsylvania Child Custody Legal Questions

I assume DCF means children's services. You need to find an attorney in the state and county in which this happened who practices juvenile dependency law. Have him or her assert your interests as a possible foster placement for the girl. If you cannot afford an attorney, find out who the caseworker for DCF is and tell her you want the girl. I would also ask when the next hearing is and make sure you show up and tell the judge that you are ready, willing and able to take the girl.... Read More

Ask your attorney, who should know more of the facts than I. My suggestion without knowing more is to file an emergency motion to move pending a relocation hearing. I suggest being proactive and doing this as opposed to just moving with the kids without mom knowing as it may make you look bad to the judge.... Read More

This is a very, very, complicated question as your husband may be the putative father. This means the court could ignore the bio dad if the new dad acted as father to the child. I suggest you gather all information-birth certificate, a timeline of events and any other informatoin and sit down with a family lawyer.... Read More

Not enough facts here to really answer. He most likely will make bond and be out. If she wants to use his arrest as a reason to file an Emergency Petition for Custody, it may not change things. He would have to be arrested for a pretty serious offense that would tend to put the child at risk, such as sexual assault charges against a minor, to reduce his visits to supervised custody. She should go over the entire case with a lawyer.... Read More

I doubt if CYF would recommend anything but supervised visits if he requests. As far as him getting any sort of unsupervised visitation, overnights or custody in adult family court, the charges you speak of will certainly make it difficult for him. An attorney would need to know more details to give you a specific answer. I suggest you consult with a family lawyer.... Read More

The answer is that a drug conviction can be a factor weighted against you during a custody hearing or trial, but that it will be 1 factor among 15 that the Court uses to determine custody. One of the factors for deciding custody is drug/alcohol issues of either party.  You mention that your husband has at least one DUI.  Hence this factor will likely be counted against both of you.  There are other factors that are significantly important.  One of these is who has been the primary caretaker for the child.  Since your child is young, this is obviously a difficult factor to decide, and could go either way to decide based on the facts. In addition, there are numerous other factors that the court will review in determining custody, and these factors tend to be very fact specific. My advice is to consult a custody lawyer in your jurisdiction due to the fact-intensive nature of custody battles.  A lawyer will be able to decide how to handle your case.... Read More