proving unfit/custody

[texasdawn]

What is the name of your state?Texas

DH pays child support for his one daughter from a previous marriage. The mother is clearly unfit. There have been numerous times where CPS was called on her by neighbors, relatives, everyone, but CPS never did anything as far as I know. We know she has a drug habit, and drinks (was in a car accident in June from her DWI), she does not care for either of her kids (one dh's , one not)she doesn't work, his daughter says she eats hotdogs and water everyday,and she was angry when we would not come bail her out of jail!. Whenever hid daughter comes over, she is in clothes that are too small, shorts on during the winter, she is dirty, hungry, and full of lice every time we get her. She always has some kind of vaginal problem..itching, a rash, etc....just unclean! We put in every dime we had last year for a lawyer who said "you have a good chance of getting custody" one day, then once the check was written out, he said "well, unless you come in here with some evidnece and proof, then it's impossible to prove her unfit. We knew it was just a bad, lazy lawyer, but were out of money. Now we pay so much in child support that we can't afford to hire another lawyer just for the fear it may be the same situation..we just can't afford it! I really am scared for the welfare of the child, and this has just gone on long enough. Our home might not be big, but it's the safest place for her. I have 2 kids, 1 on the way, and a 3 bedroom home. Even if the court did prove her unfit, would they award us another child for a total of 4 children in a 3 bedroom home..?

Is there anywhere i can look into that actually would do pro-bono to help us prove her unfit and to get custody...? Where do I go when we are out of money but must get that child out of there??

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state?Texas

DH pays child support for his one daughter from a previous marriage. The mother is clearly unfit. There have been numerous times where CPS was called on her by neighbors, relatives, everyone, but CPS never did anything as far as I know. We know she has a drug habit, and drinks (was in a car accident in June from her DWI), she does not care for either of her kids (one dh's , one not)she doesn't work, his daughter says she eats hotdogs and water everyday,and she was angry when we would not come bail her out of jail!. Whenever hid daughter comes over, she is in clothes that are too small, shorts on during the winter, she is dirty, hungry, and full of lice every time we get her. She always has some kind of vaginal problem..itching, a rash, etc....just unclean! We put in every dime we had last year for a lawyer who said "you have a good chance of getting custody" one day, then once the check was written out, he said "well, unless you come in here with some evidnece and proof, then it's impossible to prove her unfit. We knew it was just a bad, lazy lawyer, but were out of money. Now we pay so much in child support that we can't afford to hire another lawyer just for the fear it may be the same situation..we just can't afford it! I really am scared for the welfare of the child, and this has just gone on long enough. Our home might not be big, but it's the safest place for her. I have 2 kids, 1 on the way, and a 3 bedroom home. Even if the court did prove her unfit, would they award us another child for a total of 4 children in a 3 bedroom home..?

Is there anywhere i can look into that actually would do pro-bono to help us prove her unfit and to get custody...? Where do I go when we are out of money but must get that child out of there??

You do have the option of representing yourself. Its not the best solution, but if you can't afford to do it any other way its better than doing nothing at all. 4 kids in a three bedroom home isn't very unusual, as long as the genders work to make bedroom sharing reasonable.

 

[texasdawn]

thanks for the response! Anyone else have any advice??

 

[blendedfamily]

I once heard a judge say it doesn't take much to prove someones a bad person but it takes alot to prove they are a bad parent......although I think just the oppisite ....JMO I think you have good arguments.....I wish you luck... and going pro se is the scariest thing in the world but you can say you tried....check into legal aid we have it here, goes by your income...but only has limited funds see if theres an attorney that will help explain the other attorney jacked you find someone with a big heart......Good Luck

 

[ejmmolina]

From what i have seen in Texas it is almost impossible to prove a mother unfit. Girl i worked with a few years back left her kids at home while she worked they were 3 and 5. She did drugs and often came to work drunk. When our manager found out he called CPS. Guess what its not her fault she cant afford child care he should have been paying her more!!! All i can say is you better have solid proof.

ALso we were told by sheriff that unless a person who is not directly affected by custody witnesses abuse or neglect it doesnt count. Messed up right??

Hopefully things have changed seeing as this was about 3 years ago.

 

[Smarty Panties]

How old is his daughter?

 

[texasdawn]

She is 6 years old. And even though that is the only child that HE has with her, there is another 2 year old there from another man. Even though she is no concern of mine, i still fear for the child's safety.

It's really sad. Dh has reason to believe that his daughter may not even be his, but since he signed the birth certificate, he is the father. And if we asked for a DNA test, and it came back that he IS in fact the father, we would have to pay for all costs and unfortuately, we cannot afford it. It's ironic in a way...can't pay for anything that has to do with child support/custody because we are paying too much in child support. All I know, is from my own research, Texas family law is NOT fair at all!

 

[casa]

I don't live in TX, but years ago had custody established there. I ended up with sole managing conservator. This was based on the other parents history. I found the system to be fair in my case. The first thing the court wanted to know is if I had any proof of danger or unfit parenting. I did.

If this case is how you say it is, Then possibly you did not gather enough documention or contact the appropriate authorities.

If you believe the child is in danger, contact Children's Services. If the child is given to you in shorts in winter etc., document it (and document everything else too). If the child is given to you with lice, take her to the Dr. to get that documented as well. These are the types of "proof" the lawyer was referring to. Request from Children's Services the "status" of the case(s). They may not give you the reports, but can usually tell the parent if the case was closed, unfounded etc.

You can also petition the courts (if you have not done so since June) based on a change of circumstance, which is the mother's DWI- and your resulting fear for the safety of the child while in her care.

You can also contact children's advocacy groups, legal aid, the court's law facilitator's office etc. for some legal direction.

 

[ajfai]

TX laws are messed up

My sister neglects her children and CPS was called and we were told there was nothing that could be done. They don't act on something until a child is dead or a story is on the news and it makes CPS look bad.

It's all political!!!