QUESTION

Married but separated not legally. No court documents granting custody to neither parent. Neither parent have filed for divorce. 1 parent been bullied

Asked on Aug 08th, 2015 on Family Law - Florida
More details to this question:
Me and my wife is separated but not legally. None of us have filed for divorce and there is no court documents that was filed or was awarded granting anyone custody rights. My wife, upon the advice of her single friends have decided to start to alienate our 5yrs old son from me and make all the major decisions without consulting or contacting me such as to which school to enroll him in. Sometimes I go months without "being allowed" to see him. Even the baby sitter had told me that not even if my wife was in a coma that I would be given back my son until my wife wakes up. And all my wife did was grin. This is my question. My wife thinks that it is ok that she could take our son to visit her side of the family in Charlotte, North Carolina, but I have no rights to take my son to Dallas, Texas to see my side of the family. Again, we HAVE NOT filed for divorce or custody. We still both share responsibility. School is about to re-open and I would like my son to visit my family too
Report Abuse

1 ANSWER

If you are married but separated, your wife has no greater rights than you as it pertains to your child.  If she is excluding you from your child's life, your option is to file either an action for divorce or an action for shared parenting and timesharing.  In either type of action, issues of timesharing and parental rights will be addressed and resolved.   If agreement cannot otherwise be reached, the court will determine these issues based on the best interests of the child.  Factors that the court will consider include, but are not limited to, considerations such as each parent's disposition to encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship with the other parent, to communicate with and keep the other parent informed of issues and activities regarding the child, and to engage in joint decision-making with the other parent regarding matters concerning the child's welfare and best interests.  Parental alienation is certainly a negative factor for a parent who allows that to happen.   It is not necessarily against a child's best interests for a parent to take the child to visit his or her family in another state, but absent some specific justification, the other parent should have the same right.  There is no presumption for or against the father or mother of the child pertaining to decisioin-making regarding the child, or for or against any specific time-sharing schedule.  If your wife is not cooperating in allowing you to have frequent and continuing contact with your child, or allowing you to share the rights and responsibilities, and joys, of childrearing, you need to be pro-active in enforcing your parental rights in court. 
Answered on Aug 10th, 2015 at 9:55 AM

Report Abuse

Ask a Lawyer

Consumers can use this platform to pose legal questions to real lawyers and receive free insights.

Participating legal professionals get the opportunity to speak directly with people who may need their services, as well as enhance their standing in the Lawyers.com community.

0 out of 150 characters