custody

[4theloveofdrew]

Hi (MI) A friend of mine just got a divorce and her papers read as follows...under custody it reads. Plantiff is awarded sole physical custody and the parties are awarded joint legal custody of the parties minor child. Does this mean that her X is entitled to the same rights as she when it comes to all decisions, and would he have the right to keep him for extented amounts of time and be able to refuse to give him back? Under the "parenting time" section the only thng that it lists is "the defendant shall have reasonable parenting time with the minor child as mutually agreed to by the parties". Does this mean that she doesnt have to let him have him every other weekend like most famlies? I dont understand why the X is given "joint anything" when he hasnt paid a dime in support and quit his job to avoid it being deducted from his paycheck. He didnt even show up in court any of the times she went. Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Hi (MI) A friend of mine just got a divorce and her papers read as follows...under custody it reads. Plantiff is awarded sole physical custody and the parties are awarded joint legal custody of the parties minor child. Does this mean that her X is entitled to the same rights as she when it comes to all decisions, and would he have the right to keep him for extented amounts of time and be able to refuse to give him back? Under the "parenting time" section the only thng that it lists is "the defendant shall have reasonable parenting time with the minor child as mutually agreed to by the parties". Does this mean that she doesnt have to let him have him every other weekend like most famlies? I dont understand why the X is given "joint anything" when he hasnt paid a dime in support and quit his job to avoid it being deducted from his paycheck. He didnt even show up in court any of the times she went. Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

My response:

Did your "friend" have an attorney in this matter?

Don't even begin to mix apples and oranges - - e.g., visitation rights with child support obligations. In the law, these are distinctly different, one having nothing to do with the other. For example, parents get into a lot of trouble with the courts when they take the attitude, "Well, if he's not paying support, then I just won't let him see Bobby." Don't make that mistake !

Now, get back to me with an answer to my question, and we'll talk further.

IAAL

 

[4theloveofdrew]

she used woman justice

Hi thanks for responding. I am sorry if I gave the impression she was trying to withhold visitation because she gets no support---that was my comment not hers. She is much more giving than I think some women in her situation would be, she lets her X have his son when ever he wants, and even though her X did some terrible things to her, she never says a cross word to her son regarding his father. She used something called "woman justice" and I am not sure if that is an attorney or a low cost legal aide type service, but I noticed it did have the same downtown address as the court. The main thing that she fears is that he will start to play games when it comes time to return her son, he seems to have no concern that the boy must be in school, he returns him on Monday afternoon instead of Sunday evening, etc. He made mention that he could keep him "for good" and there wasnt any thing she could do about it. She wants to be fair, she just doesnt want to have to fight to get him to bring him home, and she wants to know if she has to get the police involved will the wording in her papers help or hurt her case? Thanks again!!