Since my ex is never home to raise our children, can I get custody?

Without a great deal of additional information it would be impossible for me to express an opinion as to whether or not a change in custody could be accomplished. It is getting to the point is that the children, 11 and 14, will be spoken to by the court about their preference, however it is not totally in their choice and the inmates cannot be allowed to run the asylum especially as they enter their adolescence. The danger is children are then given a weapon by which they can control her parents.

What you feel is nice, but the judge may not agree. In order to change the custody, you will need to prove that there has been a substantial and material change in circumstances. The judge may listen to the children, but if the judge believes the children are just trying to play the parents off each other or are looking for an easier time, custody won't change. So, you need to talk with a local family law attorney and go over all of the facts to see if you have a basis for changing custody.

If your children are willing to tell the judge that they want to live with you, you would certainly have a better than even chance of getting custody.

In Ohio, the threshold is a change of circumstances; That is, with the children's situation not a parent's; If the children are being effected by the absence of the mother, ie doing bad in school, getting into trouble with the police, etc, then that may be enough to litigate a change in circumstances.