• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Emergency Custody Denied

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Turtlemaki

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MD

I apologize if this is going to be a novel, I just don't know where to turn anymore. Here is some back story. I have a 9 year old daughter (soon to be 10 in Sept) with a woman I never really had a relationship with. In fact, I never knew I even had a daughter until my daughter was 8 months old. By the time I found out, I was with my wife who was pregnant with our son. I was all for stepping up and taking care of my daughter once the test came back that she was in fact mine (mother named two other men before me) but at this time, I had nothing...no car, no licenses even if I did have a car and i was living with my in laws. I tried to talk to the mother and asked to be a part of my daughters life, but she was with another guy and already had my daughter calling him daddy. The mother has some mental issues and after fighting with her about seeing my daughter, she finally said "F*** YOU! YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR DAUGHTER AGAIN!!" So I walked away....meaning I didn't fight or go to court to even try to do anything (Yes I understand if you think I'm a horrible person.) I made my choice and I have to live with this. I was trying to get on my feet having a new baby who was born early and getting myself and family stable. Go a head and judge, I'm a big boy.

So fast forward about 6 years later. I got a call out of the blue from the mother asking for me to be in my daughters life. I jumped at the chance and got to start building a relationship with my daughter starting 12/29/13. Problem is...mother is a sociopath, problems with the law and on drugs. She opened the door so to speak, but when I would not kiss her butt, she started to make my life a living hell. I thought my daughter was having a good life, but that wasn't the case. I have been in and out of court for the last 2 and half years. The mother already has two contempt charges against her and is currently in contempt now. I will spare you the long details of of the past 2 years, but lets just say my case file has only been closed for 4 months because of her.

So lets start with this past December. I knew the mother was on drugs but never had proof. My daughter was given a phone by her mother to use. It wasn't in working order, just something to play games on. Problem was the phone wasn't set to default and when I connected the phone to my wifi on a visit, messages from facebook started popping up. These messages were from the mothers friend. She was living with the mother at the time and she was talking to all these people trying to score drugs for her and the mother (heroine) So my fears were confirmed and I thought I finally had proof. I got all the messages together showing my daughter was living in a house with junkies and went and filed for emergency custody. It was denied. Guess I was stupid thinking shooting heroine was an emergency. After I filed, the mother refused for me to let me see my daughter. I wasn't able to see my daughter from Dec to May.

I should say there is another child in the home. She had another child (son) with the guys she was with. The guy my daughter was told was her real father. I got a call from him on 6/13 saying he filed for emergency custody and got it. I was floored. He sent me what he filed and I can NOT believe he got it. Said he believed the mother was on drugs and his son didn't have clean clothes and she didn't meet him for pick up. That was it and he got his custody in 2 hours. So the next day, I went and filed hoping I would have better luck. I waited and waiting and didn't hear anything for a week. The Judge did not deny it, but set it for an expedited hearing. I was thinking 2 weeks....no, my hearing is scheduled for 8/30/16.

Now mind you, because the other guy got custody, it was forwarded over to CPS. CPS had the mother go take a drug test. It came back positive for THC and Methadone. There was also a faint line for benzos so it had to be sent out to the lab. Mother tried to fight the ruling of the temporary custody but the Master ruled in the other guys favor even ordering for her to get an In Depth Substance Abuse Assessment. 5 days after that hearing she was arrested for Theft under 1000.00. She is already on probation for the same charge from 2013. My daughter tells me all the time how she is scared to be in the car with her mother because her mother nods out and she has to yell "Mommy." Said she has hit curbs and almost hit a tree. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! I fear every time my daughter gets in the car with her mother, it could be fatal. So this past Monday considering I had the actual test results, I filed for emergency custody again. I thought I had a pretty good shot. I was denied.

How the hell can you say its an emergency for one child to be removed, but not the other child? I don't understand this. Like I said, we have court on 8/30 at 8:45am but she also has court the same day and time for the new theft charge. I know they will postpone our hearing now. They will not reschedule unless she calls to tell them. So far an order of default is against her because she hasn't even bothered to respond to my motion. I feel like I can't even protect my daughter. Is there ANYTHING I can do?

Any advise would be appreciated. I'm almost ready to go to the news, but don't want to piss the courts off. I just want to make sure my daughter is safe.
 


single317dad

Senior Member
It's possible that his evidence was different. It's possible he made more compelling arguments. It's possible he already had some form of custody which made the judge's ruling easier. We don't and can't know all the answers here. If you feel you're not being represented properly in court, perhaps hired counsel is in your best interest.

I wish you the best of luck and hope you can get your child into a safe and stable home.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
I wish I knew what the now-deleted 2:24AM post said, but be that as it may.

It is impossible to compare two cases. There are likely details of the other guy's case that you are not aware of. Likewise, we do not (and cannot) know every detail of yours. Despite your verbosity, we don't even know if you have been - LEGALLY - declared the child's father.

The best advice that anyone can really offer at this point is that you consult with a lawyer.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top