Custody battle, abusive son-in-law

My daughter and son-in-law have been fighting in a custody battle for a year now. She left him after he strangled her and went to a woman's shelter one year ago. Her father and I went to get her and the kids. We are in Texas. The judge up to now has ordered supervised visitation. The supervised day care center closed here and my daughter would meet him here in town so that she would not be in contempt of court. After three months of fighting she told him that she was going into the service-which is true. She is in the AFReserve. She hadn't left for basic yet and he filed abandonment charges. Of course, he didn't think that we were still in town but we drove the 450 miles and showed up in court. It ended up being a continuance with the continuation of supervised visitation. Her lawyer was ordered to find a supervisory daycare center half way. This was at the beginning of April. As yet, she has not done this. We have. We notified the lawyer of the place and still not heard from him except that all of a sudden he wants to settle for unsupervised visitation and he is willing to drop the custody suit. My daughter does not want to settle for unsupervised because he is abusive and a pervert. It was documented in court that he broke her tooth and he is dangerous. I am tired of the fight but I wonder from all of you great lawyers out there, is it possible that with the estabilishment of family violence, will the judge give the husband custody? I am at a loss of what to tell my daughter to do. The lawyer she has wants her to settle because she really isn't interested in this case. I feel that it is just apathy. Oh another factor that is important is that he is not a US citizen and threatens to take the children out of the country. The judge knows this but I think he just thinks that it is my daughter's fear. I have known this boy since he was 16 and his follow through is pretty good. This makes me nervous too. Do you think she needs a different lawyer or do you think she needs to stick to her guns and request supervised forever? Has anyone had any experiences with the supervised vs unsupervised battle. Is it worth fighting?

I wish I was a lawyer and had some detailed advice for you. Unfortunatley I can only lend you advice through my experience with my unstable ex. and our supervised visitation.

First I would defintely get advice from another lawyer. I would try to find someone who has specific experience in custody cases that involve abuse or high risk. A good place to start is to call all local shelters or clinics in the area that your daughter and the children are living(make sure to ask to speak with the director level or above). Ask if they could lend any advice and briefly explain your situation. I think you will find them very helpful. At the very least they may tell you what public defenders (free legal counsel) which lawyer(or judges)to avoid. At the same time I would also ask them if they are familiar with or can provide any recommendations for court appointed psychologists (ones that specialize in court ordered evaluations). You can also get a list of the court appointed and approved psychologists by calling the local court house. This is another way to help yourself in the court system. Ask your new lawyer about requesting the court to order evalutions. The approved psychologist will evaluate the father and report their findings in writing (which at the very least now starts a documented paper trail of the problems) The court may want to evaluate not just the father and children but also your daughter. These evaluations can lend valuable information to the judge about what is really going on. The father will have no choice and I am sure his true colors are likely to show through.

As for supervised visits, I would not consider anything else!!! This right has already been granted through the courts and I would not advise your daughter to allow anything different unless the court requests it.

If you have any other questions please write back. I hope this helps even a little.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by A tough situation:
[b]I wish I was a lawyer and had some detailed advice for you. Unfortunatley I can only lend you advice through my experience with my unstable ex. and our supervised visitation.

First I would defintely get advice from another lawyer. I would try to find someone who has specific experience in custody cases that involve abuse or high risk. A good place to start is to call all local shelters or clinics in the area that your daughter and the children are living(make sure to ask to speak with the director level or above). Ask if they could lend any advice and briefly explain your situation. I think you will find them very helpful. At the very least they may tell you what public defenders (free legal counsel) which lawyer(or judges)to avoid. At the same time I would also ask them if they are familiar with or can provide any recommendations for court appointed psychologists (ones that specialize in court ordered evaluations). You can also get a list of the court appointed and approved psychologists by calling the local court house. This is another way to help yourself in the court system. Ask your new lawyer about requesting the court to order evalutions. The approved psychologist will evaluate the father and report their findings in writing (which at the very least now starts a documented paper trail of the problems) The court may want to evaluate not just the father and children but also your daughter. These evaluations can lend valuable information to the judge about what is really going on. The father will have no choice and I am sure his true colors are likely to show through.

As for supervised visits, I would not consider anything else!!! This right has already been granted through the courts and I would not advise your daughter to allow anything different unless the court requests it.

If you have any other questions please write back. I hope this helps even a little.[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>