bribaby1105
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MD
I will try to summarize the situation as best as possible.
My daughter is 9 yrs old. Her mother and I were never married, we broke up when my daughter was 3. There were never any court orders. I have ALWAYS been involved with weekend visitations and such. In 2005 she lived with me for 6 months while her mother joined the military. In January 2009, her mother called and asked if our daughter could live with me while she "got herself together", but never elaborated. I was so happy that I didn't ask many questions. My ex and I have not always been able to be civil, it's more of a roller coaster. She remained with me until July 2009. After coming back from vacation (my wife, my daughter, and my 2 other children with my wife all went), her mother asked if she could pick up our daughter from summer school (she needs extra help since she has some learning disabilities). I agreed to this since our daughter was spending some more time with her mother since it was summer. I also anticipated my daughters return. During the school year she saw her every weekened. Getting to the point, On July 23 I dropped my daughter off at school and have not seen her since. Her mother picked her up and refuses to allow me to see her and says that she wants to take her back; she also didn't let her finish summer school. Instead of getting into every detail, I will just say that her living situation has not changed since January. She is unemployed and lives with her father and his son. My daughter has no place to sleep, except for the living room with her mother and half-sister. I have a 3 bedroom house where she shares a room with her 4 yr old half-sister. I have filed for custody in my county, and she filed for custody in her county. We are waiting for the court hearing, neither one of us has an attorney. I think it would be in my daughters best interest to remain with me because I can provide stability (mother moved 4 times in 2 yrs), her mother has been involved in abusive relationships where my daughter had to call 911 (I have records of this), I believe that I prioritze her education more (while with her mother she missed 16.5 days on school year, and 11 during the first half of this past school year before I got her), I am able to provide better since I have been in the same line of work for 15 yrs and her mother has been unemployed for over 2 yrs. Basically, do I have chance? My biggest worry is that because her mother physically has our daughter the judge will be reluctant to make her give our daughter back to me. Any help / advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
I will try to summarize the situation as best as possible.
My daughter is 9 yrs old. Her mother and I were never married, we broke up when my daughter was 3. There were never any court orders. I have ALWAYS been involved with weekend visitations and such. In 2005 she lived with me for 6 months while her mother joined the military. In January 2009, her mother called and asked if our daughter could live with me while she "got herself together", but never elaborated. I was so happy that I didn't ask many questions. My ex and I have not always been able to be civil, it's more of a roller coaster. She remained with me until July 2009. After coming back from vacation (my wife, my daughter, and my 2 other children with my wife all went), her mother asked if she could pick up our daughter from summer school (she needs extra help since she has some learning disabilities). I agreed to this since our daughter was spending some more time with her mother since it was summer. I also anticipated my daughters return. During the school year she saw her every weekened. Getting to the point, On July 23 I dropped my daughter off at school and have not seen her since. Her mother picked her up and refuses to allow me to see her and says that she wants to take her back; she also didn't let her finish summer school. Instead of getting into every detail, I will just say that her living situation has not changed since January. She is unemployed and lives with her father and his son. My daughter has no place to sleep, except for the living room with her mother and half-sister. I have a 3 bedroom house where she shares a room with her 4 yr old half-sister. I have filed for custody in my county, and she filed for custody in her county. We are waiting for the court hearing, neither one of us has an attorney. I think it would be in my daughters best interest to remain with me because I can provide stability (mother moved 4 times in 2 yrs), her mother has been involved in abusive relationships where my daughter had to call 911 (I have records of this), I believe that I prioritze her education more (while with her mother she missed 16.5 days on school year, and 11 during the first half of this past school year before I got her), I am able to provide better since I have been in the same line of work for 15 yrs and her mother has been unemployed for over 2 yrs. Basically, do I have chance? My biggest worry is that because her mother physically has our daughter the judge will be reluctant to make her give our daughter back to me. Any help / advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
