Ask Me Help Desk - How hard is it for a father in Ohio to get custody?

It was a custody case she had filled. Then when he signed that agreement it was dismissed. In hamilton county Ohio. What day would be an apporpriate timeto take them back if it does not state that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

I'm still seeing some gaps here

Dismissal of WHAT?? Custody, visitation, what? And what grounds were there for a dismissal and why was it granted.

If there were no pending case that gave your boyfriend custody or visitation she was free to move.

When to court where and why? If the case was dismissed then what was there to go to court about? If your boyfriend started a new case, what was it about?

Again, WHAT CASE??? It sounds like a case for visitation and the attorney asked for dismissal showing the signed agreement as proof that they have settled. If that's the case, then this agreement has the force of law.

And this is where it might backfire on her. If the Agreement specifies that that he gets them through the end of August, then if she is going to pick them up earlier, she has to go to court and request a modification of the agreement. If she tries to pick them up earlier he can refuse citing that the agreement states he has them until the end of August. If she tries to take them, he can call the police and show the agreement.

On the other hand. if the agreement states that he has them until school starts, then he should confirm that school start on Aug 8 but if it does, then he has to give them back. Even if the agreement states through the end of August, if school does, indeed start on Aug 8, then I would return them because it would not be in the children's best interests to miss school.

Ok So SHE filed a custody case in OH, then HER attorney asked that it be dismissed and it was? Then she moved? Then another case was filed in FL and that was dismissed when he signed the agreement? Who filed that case and about what?

Getting info from you is like pulling teeth!

I think a week is a reasonable time. So, if school starts the 8th, then the 1st is reasonable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

...
Again, WHAT CASE??? It sounds like a case for visitation and the attorney asked for dismissal showing the signed agreement as proof that they have settled. If that's the case, then this agreement has the force of law. ...

Actually, if it was dismissed, the case wouldn't have any legal effect.

That's why I wondered why her lawyer agreed to dismiss it.

Perhaps OP is confused, and by dismissal means settlement. The proper way to effect the settlement would have been to enter a stipulated judgment or decree.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK lawyer

OP is confused, and by dismissal means settlement. The proper way to effect the settlement would have been to enter a stipulated judgment or decree.

Clearly the OP is confused. So it hard to give accurate advice with so many contradictions and missing info.

My boyfriend is trying to get custody of his two sons.
We live in Ohio and now his children live in Florida. It all started almost 4 years ago. They were never married and she chose to leave him. September 2008, She left him. In November 2008 is when I met him. We were picking the children up every other weekend and providing anything that they would need. In 2009 she filed a custody case, she wanted to move to Florida. He did not have an attorney and she did. The judge allowed her to move to Florida before the case was over. Her reason for moving was to better her live but she is in the same situation she was in while she was up her. She lives with her boyfriend (which happens to be her step-dads nephew) grandma and has just moved his mother in. Which makes 4 adults and 2 children living in a 3 bedroom house. While down there she agreed to let him pick up the kids, when he went to the airport in Florida, she told him he could not take his children unless he signed this visitation agreement. He signed it because he didn't want to leave his kids standing there wondering why they weren't going with him.

The agreement was never notarized or witnessed. Her lawyer filed that agreement to the court and the case was dismissed.

The visitation agreement says he should only get the kids June, July and August and it says nothing about holidays. Every year she has been lying as to when her plane is leaving from Ohio to go back to Florida. She has been staying in Ohio so that she can stay with her mother a week, which her mother was just charged with drug trafficking. She also has been cutting his time down to just June and July. She called him the other day saying she was going to pick them up on the 1st of August and if he don't like it, oh well and said she will call the cops, if he tries to stop her. She is also not allowing the kids to see him on any holiday. They have only spent 1 Christmas with their father since all of this has been going on. This will be the 3rd year he will not get to see them on Christmas. She also always dangles his kids over his head, saying if you don't do this or that you can't see his kids.
All she cares about is the child support. She always says, if you don't pay me, you will not see your kids.

He wants to go for full custody. All of their family lives in Ohio, mothers and fathers. We are stable have been for 3 years. He has had his job almost three years, He pays his child support. He has been trying to work it out, but she is just so mean to him that he can't take it anymore.

How hard would it be for him to get custody of his sons?

This fills in most of the gaps.

I'm going to assume the last case that was dismissed was in FL. It would appear that FL has jurisdiction, so he needs to file for custody there. He NEEDS an attorney to guide him in proving the children would be better off with him. If he cannot win primary custody, at least he should get a court ordered visitation schedule that she will have to adhere to.

Don't let her intimidate you with threats of the police. Unless she has a court order stating that she has custody, the police will not do anything. As long as your boyfriend can prove he is the children's father the police will just tell her to hash it out in court.

Thank you, for all your help we are currently looking for a good attorney.

Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sorry if we were hard on you, but it can be very frustrating to try and help someone when they won't give us the info we need to give advice.

We will be here to suggest and advise if you need to confirm what your attorney is telling you.

What do you do if your visitation agreement does not have dates or times for pick-up?

My boyfriend lives in the state of Ohio and his kids mother lives in Florida
They currently have a visitation agreement in Hamilton county, Ohio, it does not have specific dates or times for pick up it just says August What should he do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by beeg09

my boyfriend lives in the state of Ohio and his kids mother lives in Florida
They currently have a visitation agreement in Hamilton county, Ohio, it does not have specific dates or times for pick up it just says august What should he do?

1. To make additional an agreement with the mother about the terms.
2. To file for emergency order.

Again, please do not start a new thread over this. I've merged your threads again.

He and the mother need to reach an agreement. It is reasonable for the pickup and dropoff to be within a day or two of the beginning or end of the month.

His children's mother is not willing to make any agreements on when or where the children should be picked up.
Also the beginning or August is just next Wednesday, we really don't know what to do?

You go to court and ask the court to mediate or set specific times.

You said above that "They currently have a visitation agreement in Hamilton county, Ohio, " This is a change from previous posts that seemed to indicate the agreement was with a Florida court (this is why you need to keep posts about this together). If the agreement was issued by an Ohio court, then he can go back to the Oh court and ask them to clarify the order, make it more specific or mediate an agreement.

I'm sorry for the confusion. Yes, the visitation agreement is in Hamilton county, Ohio. So when he files for custody he would have to file in Ohio? Even though they live in Florida.

Thank you, you guys have been a big help. Despite my wording.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

... If the agreement was issued by an Ohio court, ...

Let's try to un-confuse things. Agreements are not issued by courts. Courts make orders, which sometimes are pursuant to agreements.

As I understand it, there was an agreement. An Ohio court signed off on the agreement and entered an order. If this is correct, and since father still lives in Ohio, only the courts of Ohio have jurisdiction under UCCJEA to modify. Florida courts do not.

Right as AK said, the agreement was ratified by a court order. But the important thing is that the order was issued by an Ohio court which means Ohio has jurisdiction.

Thank you guys so much. If you have any other tips on how he would get custody please let me know.

Has he gotten a lawyer yet?

Please keep us posted as things develop.

Not yet. We are working on getting a lawyer.

Will it help if we got affidavits from their grandparents and other family members on the way this agreement has impacted them and the children? Also from employers of my boyfriend showing stability and character?