QUESTION
Will my wife and I lose custody of our granddaughter, we have primary legal custody but my son and his wife have secondary and her parents want her.
Asked on Mar 23rd, 2013 on Family Law - Utah
More details to this question:
In Feb of 2012 my son and his wife signed a statement of facts document that was submitted to the court with a petition to grand primary and legal custody of our granddaughter to my wife and me. The court gave my wife and I primary and legal custody on Feb 27 2012. My daughter-in-law's parents did not protest the court order and it became official at the end of March. In July, My son's father-in-law offered offered him a job in California but it was not conferemed until early Sep 2012. My son and his wife were living in our home and had done so for the past 3 years. They said they would pay us rent but they never did. They stayed up all night playing games. They didn't take care of the baby and we didn't kick them out because of the baby. We finally evicted them after my son recieved his job offer. We did not let the baby go with them. My son is claiming now that we forced him to sign the statement of facts and is taking us to court. They have paid us no support.
1 ANSWER
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As I am sure you can understand, these cases can be very complicated and it is difficult to give a very satisfying answer. Your son certainly has the right to go to court and ask for a transfer of custody - unless, that is, the court ordered a trmination of his parental rights. In the latter case, his only recourse is to ask the court to re-open the case based on some extenuating circumstance. But if he sill has parental rights, he would have to prove that some big change happened to justify reconsidering the custody decision.
With so much at stake, it may be worthwhile for you to consult an attorney and evaluate your options. Although I do not generally take domestic cases, I will in the right situation. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please contact my office.
Answered on Mar 23rd, 2013 at 10:40 AM