[ChristieOrion]

I'm the father of a 12 year old boy and when we went to divorce court and I got joint custody. About less than a half year later she left to Arkansas while we (my son and myself) live in Alabama. That was 2007 when she left so then I had him I could not get Medicaid without her signing her rights over. It was temporary, for one year, then she tried filling for child support from up there and they tried to get it from me but he was not with her, I did not know about abandonment charges at the time, my lawyer did not even tell me. I fired her cause she was very incompetent. They closed the case up there but would not tell me why, but that is obvious.

So she came back here in 2012 to try and get money from me and so I had to go to court for child support even though I told them she had been gone and I have the proof. I tried to let her be a mom by letting her have him like she was supposed to but now she won't let him call me or see me until I said I would bring the police in then everything changed that day. Now her new husband is harassing me. DHR has been out there twice and the sheriffs five different times all for domestic violence. DHR will not help I don't know what to do I have kept a journal of everything since she has been back and recordings of my son telling me about violence against him by her and his new step dad whom is on probation for selling pills (a felony) and she was abusive towards me that's why I divorced her but she got primary custody because she's a women in Alabama.

He goes to the school in my area, they live in a different area with her parents. I can't afford a lawyer. Every teacher he has had since she has been back has had problems with her and told me they don't like her. Most people who know her know her to be an aggressive drug abuser. His step-dad is telling my son that I did horrible things to his mom none which are true they have no proof and telling him to call him dad and so on. He also put his hand over my sons mouth and nose until he could not breath. They called my parents and told them if I did not give him money I would not see my son again that they would take him up north.

Can I still get abandonment charges on her? Do you think I can get full custody of him without a big fight? I need help please!

[AK lawyer]

Your post is long and filled with possibly immaterial details. As I understand it, the Alabama court awarded you joint custody but the child's mother since kept the child, and now refuses you visitation. You are going to have to go back to court and get the court to enforce your "joint custody" rights.

You ask about "abandonment charges". As I recall, failure to pay child support is only called "abandonment" in Georgia, but I'm not sure: possibly Alabama calls it that too. If you mean failure to pay CS, I'm not following how you figure she owes that to you; if you mean actually leaving the child unattended, what are the circumstances please?

[ScottGem]

Let me see if I get this straight. You live in AL and have since before the divorce. In the divorce you got joint custody, but was that joint legal, joint physical or what? Then in 2007, she left the state leaving your son with you. At that point you could (and should) have filed for primary physical and legal custody using abandonment as grounds. But you didn't so the point is moot.

Then in 2012, she returned to AL, now remarried. Despite the evidence (that you claim) of abusive behavior, drug use etc. the AL courts awarded her primary custody. Do you currently have visitation? If so on what schedule?

You can't file abandonment charges because there is no such thing (which is probably why your lawyer didn't tell you about it). You MIGHT be able to use the 5 years when she was out of the state as grounds to change custody, but since the courts awarded her custody, that's probably not going to fly.

Your best bet appears to be to have his teachers report the abuse to DHR (local family services?) and then petition the court to have custody returned to you with supervised visitation.

[AK lawyer]

As I read it, she didn't go back to court upon her return to change custody. OP writes that "... I divorced her but she got primary custody ...". I'm assuming he means that she got primary physical custody (with joint legal custody) in the original divorce. Upon her return, he asked the court for child support and then voluntarily let her have the child (with no court order, as I read it).

In any event, he appears to have some sort of visitation rights which the court should enforce, when the court is asked to.

[ScottGem]

Not sure: I took this statement;

I tried to let her be a mom by letting her have him like she was supposed to

to indicate she had visitation.

But I agree the original post was not very clear, and we need the OP to return and clarify things.