For my great-grandson

[ili]

What is the name of your state?Tennessee My grandson hasn't seen his only
child in over a year. He provides no support but used to be his only support
and had sole custody. After re-marriage he gave the boy to his mom. He is
a precious child and misses his dad. Is there nothing we can do since this
dad has cut himself off from all his family? What about in the future? If the
boy wants to can he sue for abandonment or non-support or anything in the
future when he is of age? Just curious. I had no luck checking TN code ann.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state?Tennessee My grandson hasn't seen his only
child in over a year. He provides no support but used to be his only support
and had sole custody. After re-marriage he gave the boy to his mom. He is
a precious child and misses his dad. Is there nothing we can do since this
dad has cut himself off from all his family? What about in the future? If the
boy wants to can he sue for abandonment or non-support or anything in the
future when he is of age? Just curious. I had no luck checking TN code ann.

There is nothing that you can do to force his dad to be a father. You can however force him to pay child support. The problem with that is that if dad is forced to pay child support, then dad will probably go after custody. That could be a good thing for the child, but dad also may very well cut the rest of you off from the child if he does go for custody....which would be a bad thing. For the child's sake it would probably be best to just leave things as they are for now.

 

[ili]

The dad did have custody. He fought twice to keep custody and loved his
son more then anything. The mother was paying support when able then he
let her drop the support so she didn't require him to pay support when she
got custody handed to her. We believe he gave up custody because of his
new wife and her two children being in his life. He says it wasn't fair to the
boy to go visit his mom and then grand-parents, etc. He is just making excuses
in other words. It really isn't fair for him to shut this precious child
out of his life. The grandson always hated deadbeat dads and now he is one.
Is there nothing this boy can ever do in the future to require his dad to at
least face him?

 

[Silverplum]

"Is there nothing this boy can ever do in the future to require his dad to at
least face him?"
"If the boy wants to can he sue for abandonment or non-support or anything in the future when he is of age? Just curious."

Why are you getting involved in this? What are you trying to accomplish?

The money issues are between the parents. The child can sue for nothing.

 

[ili]

I am involved because I love my grandson and great-grandson. If there was
anything I personally could do to mediate this I would. The whole family is
broken hearted. We pray a lot but sometimes we feel we just have to do
something. This little boy is in pain and "it's easier to grow strong
men then repair broken men." or something like that by Frederick Douglas

 

[stealth2]

So the child is now in the custody of the mother? This was done through the courts, yes? If so, she has evety right to seek support from him now. As for the boy, your best bet is to remain on good terms with the mother so that you can remain a part of his life.

Regarding your grandson? Tell him he's a schmuck every chance you get.

 

[ili]

Yes, this was done through the courts. The great-grandson and his mom are
now living part time with the boy's grandparents and his mom's ex-inlaws and
part time with mom's boyfriend. Saying that to my grandson is very tempting
(calling him a schmuck) but we are trying to keep the door open if the
prodigal ever wants to return. We just tell him we love him on the few
occasions we get the chance. He was the type of son and grandson anyone
would be proud of and became bitter about circumstances, such as divorce
which he didn't believe in. He mostly blames his mom (my daughter) for
everything that ever went wrong in his life. She is convenient and forgiving.
Sometimes I just want to turn him over my knee. His son is a true innocent,
loving boy but often sad and hurt.