Child mother signed off on settlement while living with child's father
Hello
My brother knew his girlfriend for 10 years, they have been living together for 4 years now and in this time frame (4 years) she has conceived twice, so two children are now in the picture. Oldest son is 3.5 and the other son is 18 months old. They all reside in NYC.
Well here goes the story:
When the older son (my nephew) was born, apparently the way the doctors delivered him was done incorrectly because now the child cannot raise his right arm, it's like he is disable and this is something we noticed as the child was growing, we realized that he could not utilized his right arm.
So my brother, the child's father seek legal help. He hired an attorney to look at the case and to make a long story short, the child was awarded 750K settlement, (the case did not make it to court) which we're told will grow to I believe 3 million by the time the child grows older, around retirement.
Well the problem is, my brother realized the 750k was not sufficient for his son. Supposed when this kid gets older he really cannot use his right arm, then how can he make a living for himself so my brother figured 750k was a small amount to take care of a person who could not work, he factored in the "time value of money" and he told the attorneys that he wanted more and voice his concern to them and as a result he did not want to sign off on any documentation to seal the deal.
Well the mother on the other hand became very "money hungry" and went behind my brothers back with the lawyers advising her and she made an executive decision and signed off on the papers. My brother had no idea what she had just done, she did not even get my brother's consent to do this, she just took it upon herself to sign off on the papers to seal the deal.
When my brother found out he became irate that she had done such a thing without his knowledge because they lived in a house as a family, he let it slide and he did not mention anything about this again.
According to my brother after she had signed off on the papers, well now she has full control over the use of the money, she became very powerful. She changed on him totally, 360 degrees and three weeks ago she asked my brother to give her and the kids a ride to her grandma and my brother did, he did it because he thought it was a routine visit. But then she came back with police officers and packed her stuff up and left.
The next day, my brother went to court and filed for custody and she did the same.
It has been very devastating for my brother. She left him with the kids for no reason, my brother did not do anything to her and we believe the only reason she left was because she believed she could take her son settlement and used it up and we believe she went behind my brothers back and signed off because she knew she was going to leave with the two kids and the 750K at some point in time.
One more thing, she is very much an unfit mother, she does not even know how to boil an egg or even cook rice, never give the children a shower or brush their teeth or even cooked a meal for them and I am not exaggerating here, this is the fact, so it clearly shows that even though she knew she could not take care of them she left because she wants the money.
My question:
What can my brother do?
Can he sue the lawyer who advise her to sign off without my brother's knowledge, can he sue her?
Does anyone know of a good child custody lawyer, one who does not charge a lot?
Any legal advise would be very much appreciated, and I mean any advise.
Thanks so much
Concerned sister and aunt.