[tambeme6]

My stepdaughter spent week ends, vacations

[JudyKayTee]

What is your question?

[tambeme6]

My daughters spent weekends, vacations and holidays with me and their stepmom for 9 years then exwife moved them 3 hrs away. Ex kept them from me moving from house to house with boyfriends, disconnecting phone, not answering phone, not letting them call me for 2 yes. My eldest called me up and told me to come and get her or she was going to run away. She gave me the address and we drove there to get her. Ex called the cops, and since it was summer vacation, cop suggested my daughter spend time with me. They wouldn't let my 9 year come along though. The ex really is nuts and I felt horrable leaving her there with her mom. My eldest never went back. Got a new start with us. Lived here for 5 yes and graduated high-school here with above average grades. The problem is, the whole time my daughter lived with us, the ex isolated my youngest from me and quit speaking to the daughter for living with us. Ifigured my youngest would also have to get in a fight with her mom also for me to ever get to see her also. Well it finally happened, but instead of calling me, she went to her boyfriends family. Now I found out that the ex got arrested for child endangerment for chasing my daughter and her boyfriend to the. Boyfriends house with a knife. Boyfriends mom helped daughter get a restraining order against her mom. Turns out my ex abused my daughter, did not protect my daughter, and daughter was molested twice by two of moms male friends. Daughter called me to tell me that she is living with boyfriend 16 and his family. That she is happy now and wants to live with them not with me. The boyfriends mom has filed for guardianship of my daughter even though I. And my family miss her and want her here with her family. Found out daughter is being home schooled while boyfriend attends public school, daughter and boyfriend have been sexually active for a yr and 1/2, Bf's mother took daughter to get Norplant birth control, and my ex lives only a few houses down. My daughter and I have seen each other twice since all this and I'm sure she'll be just fine here. My wife, oldest daughter, and 2 stepsisters have each written letters to the judge to express that my daughter belongs here with her family who love and miss her. What are my rights? Could this family win over her own father? I know that every day she stays there she is getting more attatched, but I promised her I wouldn't just show up and rip her out of there, Even though I want to. I'm just not causing my daughter more trama by trusting the court will see what's really best for her. That would be with her family. Any advice welcomed.

[tambeme6]

Sorry I rewrote it. . Thanks

[Fr_Chuck]

How many times during those years that the ex would not allow you to see the children did you take the ex back to court for contempt for not following the visits plans.

If you have no history of any attempts to get the children though court, no history of trying to see the children ( though the courts) If you are aware of a 16 who is living with a boyfriend who started having sex with her at 14 or 15 ( illlegal in most places) and do nothing, yes I see good chance the other family members have a great chance at getting custody.

Someone needs to , obvious you are not going to do anything.

[tambeme6]

I had 3 day a week visitation (minimal) in 1999 .Ex made many false accusations about me to police that are on my record. Went to court to get more visitation because she was keeping them away and got weekend overnight visitation and vacation and holidays then she moved away. This latest court investigator made it sound like my daughter was a basket case and had to be with this lady at all times, but when I seen her she was fine. I wasn't sure what I could do since I didn't know if she already had emergancy guardianship. Didn't know if I could just get my daughter or what. Can I? What can I do to get her. She should not be there living with a boyfriend at 15. Please help.

[tambeme6]

What legal steps do I take to get custudy of my daughter besides going to the guardianship hearing filed by this family? It was a hearing but now it's a trial. What happens during a trial?

[JudyKayTee]

All parties are sworn in, witnesses are called to testify, a Judge determine who is telling the truth and who is not and what is in the best interest of the child.

[ScottGem]

I'm sorry to say that I think you dropped the ball here. As soon as your ex moved away affecting your visitation you should have been in court requesting that she either return or that you be awarded custody. If all they did was change the visitation, then when she moved again or didn't make the children available, you should have been back in court. You had court ordered visitation which means that she was in contempt of court if she didn't allow it.

When you got your eldest, you should have gone to court for the younger. So, it appears you could have and should have done much more,

As for the situation you are in now, you need to get your daughter out of it. She will probably hate you, but the boyfriend's mother has broken the law by getting her birth control and allowing a sexual relationship. Depending on local laws and respective ages, the boyfriend may be guilty of statutory rape. I can't imagine any court that would allow an underage child to reside in a home that is condoning and supporting underage sex.