missouri
I'm at a loss and some advice. Please. Anything. I have a 7 year old son, his mother and I were never married, we split when my son was about 2 and we remained great friends. No custody order was issued and we never went to court. We always agreed on everything. I had my son full time from the time he was 2 until he turned 5 and she saw him 2 days a week. When he turned 5 and started kindergarten I could no longer keep him full time and get him and pick him up from school due to my job. So she kept him during the school week and I had him every weekend. There was never an issue. My sons moved an hour away when he started school which I didn't like but it wasn't a big deal and like I said, I saw him every weekend and all summer. During this time my ex went down hill with the men she dated and eventually married and she started drinking heavily. She attempted suicide twice and I went and got my son and brought him back because I feared for his safety. I put him in school here and also brought his mom, my ex, down to where I lived and she stayed with me until I found her a house and helped her get on her feet. After about a month of staying with me she decided she was ready to move into a house across town and signed a lease and put a deposit down. She was set to move in today. I work nights and when I came home I found all of her stuff was gone and so was all my sons stuff. I soon received an email from her stating she didn't want to live in that town and she was moving back to her parents house and taking our son, her parents live 400 miles away and now he's gone and I don't know what to do about it. I filed an ex parte on her on my sons behalf due to her instability and mental problems and the emotional abuse he's sustained watching her try to kill herself twice and I'm worried for his safety. I'm waiting on the judges decision. What are the chances he grants this and I can go get my son back here. There has never been physical abuse that I know of but plenty of emotional abuse. I left the paperwork at the courthouse for the judge to review. But what are my chances? I then went and spoke with an attorney and he said there is nothing he could do because no law was broken. He advised me to try mediation. Is this sound advice? Or should I do something else? I can't just sit around and worry and wait. I don't know what to do. Any advice would be very appreciated. Besides take her to court for full custody, which I plan on doing. But I need to do something now. Thank you.
I'm at a loss and some advice. Please. Anything. I have a 7 year old son, his mother and I were never married, we split when my son was about 2 and we remained great friends. No custody order was issued and we never went to court. We always agreed on everything. I had my son full time from the time he was 2 until he turned 5 and she saw him 2 days a week. When he turned 5 and started kindergarten I could no longer keep him full time and get him and pick him up from school due to my job. So she kept him during the school week and I had him every weekend. There was never an issue. My sons moved an hour away when he started school which I didn't like but it wasn't a big deal and like I said, I saw him every weekend and all summer. During this time my ex went down hill with the men she dated and eventually married and she started drinking heavily. She attempted suicide twice and I went and got my son and brought him back because I feared for his safety. I put him in school here and also brought his mom, my ex, down to where I lived and she stayed with me until I found her a house and helped her get on her feet. After about a month of staying with me she decided she was ready to move into a house across town and signed a lease and put a deposit down. She was set to move in today. I work nights and when I came home I found all of her stuff was gone and so was all my sons stuff. I soon received an email from her stating she didn't want to live in that town and she was moving back to her parents house and taking our son, her parents live 400 miles away and now he's gone and I don't know what to do about it. I filed an ex parte on her on my sons behalf due to her instability and mental problems and the emotional abuse he's sustained watching her try to kill herself twice and I'm worried for his safety. I'm waiting on the judges decision. What are the chances he grants this and I can go get my son back here. There has never been physical abuse that I know of but plenty of emotional abuse. I left the paperwork at the courthouse for the judge to review. But what are my chances? I then went and spoke with an attorney and he said there is nothing he could do because no law was broken. He advised me to try mediation. Is this sound advice? Or should I do something else? I can't just sit around and worry and wait. I don't know what to do. Any advice would be very appreciated. Besides take her to court for full custody, which I plan on doing. But I need to do something now. Thank you.
