help with a case grandparent coerced daughter to hand over custody out of fear.

[leighhyacinth]

Hello. I live in the state of Ohio I am a grandparent and not a party to a case where the other grandparent filed custody and threatened my daughter into agreeing to give up custody of the baby to this woman. my daughter did not understand it was permanant, and she didnt want to do it but was in fear. (the woman threatened her with harm, and that she would set her up and have her arrested). this all happened very quickly and I just learned of it after the fact. there was no discovery, no evidence was entered other than the claim itself, no mediation, no guardian ad litem was appointed, nothing. the woman just swept in and put my daughter in a car and took her to court and made her sign that day! the woman filed with a lawyer on Aug 31 and the case was heard and done 1 week ago on sept 18th. can I file a motion to dismiss after the fact for duress? failure to provide evidence? the father of the child never had a paternity test so this woman may not even be the paternal grandparent. please assist in any advice that I can use. I understand law to a small degree. please tell me what motions I can file and how can i become a party to this case as well for even grand parent visitation or something. this is crazy what she did. this woman has a history of violence, has attacked my daughter in the past and I am afraid for the baby and feel the court should never have moved so quickly when they didnt understand what was happening. the woman even threatened me with jail or something if I tried to do anything . Ive never done anything wrong, but she will not bully me! thank you in advance.

 

[Ohiogal]

Hello. I live in the state of Ohio I am a grandparent and not a party to a case where the other grandparent filed custody and threatened my daughter into agreeing to give up custody of the baby to this woman. my daughter did not understand it was permanant, and she didnt want to do it but was in fear. (the woman threatened her with harm, and that she would set her up and have her arrested). this all happened very quickly and I just learned of it after the fact. there was no discovery, no evidence was entered other than the claim itself, no mediation, no guardian ad litem was appointed, nothing. the woman just swept in and put my daughter in a car and took her to court and made her sign that day! the woman filed with a lawyer on Aug 31 and the case was heard and done 1 week ago on sept 18th. can I file a motion to dismiss after the fact for duress? failure to provide evidence? the father of the child never had a paternity test so this woman may not even be the paternal grandparent. please assist in any advice that I can use. I understand law to a small degree. please tell me what motions I can file and how can i become a party to this case as well for even grand parent visitation or something. this is crazy what she did. this woman has a history of violence, has attacked my daughter in the past and I am afraid for the baby and feel the court should never have moved so quickly when they didnt understand what was happening. the woman even threatened me with jail or something if I tried to do anything . Ive never done anything wrong, but she will not bully me! thank you in advance.

How old is your daughter? And no it is not permanent. In what county was this? Is Father on the birth certificate?

 

[t74]

Is your daughter in any way disabled or impaired by substance abuse? Were there ever any complaints about your DD to child protective services? Her complying so easily with the demands of the current custodian of the child is puzzling if there are not complicating factors.

The best way to help your DD is to assist her in getting an attorney for, at least, a consultation and review of what has occurred. Choose the attorney carefully. Look for a child advocate and not a generalist or divorce attorney looking for a fight. Since you are in Ohio, listen closely to Ohiogal. Answer her questions

You are obviously concerned and frustrated. Both you and your DD should comply fully with the current court orders. Do not delay but also do not act irresponsibly. If you have a legitimate concern about the safety of the child, report your concerns to child services, but do not do this just to harass the person with custody. If the person with custody has a documented history of child abuse or violence, be sure the attorney has specifics but be truthful and not embellish the facts. An attorney who is a child advocate will be better able to assist your daughter and advise you of how you might help her find the best situation for the baby.

Finally, remain calm and support your DD at this time. Remember to put the child first. Getting what you want should not be your goal. (I am a grandma and understand how you are feeling. It would be far too easy for you to create additional problems if you do not let the legal system work this out.)

 

[leighhyacinth]

How old is your daughter? And no it is not permanent. In what county was this? Is Father on the birth certificate?

it was in Summit county domestic relations division, My daughter is 27 and the child is 2, my daugher did name her bf as the father on the certificate yes. ty for your assistance

 

[stealth2]

When did this occur?

 

[leighhyacinth]

t

Is your daughter in any way disabled or impaired by substance abuse? Were there ever any complaints about your DD to child protective services? Her complying so easily with the demands of the current custodian of the child is puzzling if there are not complicating factors.

The best way to help your DD is to assist her in getting an attorney for, at least, a consultation and review of what has occurred. Choose the attorney carefully. Look for a child advocate and not a generalist or divorce attorney looking for a fight. Since you are in Ohio, listen closely to Ohiogal. Answer her questions

You are obviously concerned and frustrated. Both you and your DD should comply fully with the current court orders. Do not delay but also do not act irresponsibly. If you have a legitimate concern about the safety of the child, report your concerns to child services, but do not do this just to harass the person with custody. If the person with custody has a documented history of child abuse or violence, be sure the attorney has specifics but be truthful and not embellish the facts. An attorney who is a child advocate will be better able to assist your daughter and advise you of how you might help her find the best situation for the baby.

Finally, remain calm and support your DD at this time. Remember to put the child first. Getting what you want should not be your goal. (I am a grandma and understand how you are feeling. It would be far too easy for you to create additional problems if you do not let the legal system work this out.)

the accusation was made of drug abuse on the motion for temp custody. it was also a claim made in the complaint. there was never any tests done and she has not demonstrated to me any behaviour that would make me believe that she is on drugs. no. the woman however is on prescription opioids, has access to many narcotics at her place of work and has attacked both my daughter and her own son. I have photos the son sent me right after the attack 3 weeks ago, and the woman admitted to attacking my daughter in March when my daughter called me crying. my daughter has been living in a house where she has been mentally, verbally and physically beaten down and nothing I ever tried to do worked (plead with her to get out of that house) I never called child services about this woman because i didnt want my daughter to be angry with me for interfering. however now that the child is alone with this woman i did try to get child services involved and they said that I waited too long and should have called immediately after each of these attacks, that i have no evidence the child is in any danger presently. I dont have any money to secure an attorney, am on disability and my daughter does not have a job since they always kept her there and wouldnt let her go anywhere. they would guilt her into not working because that would make her a bad mother. so we have no money to do something like this and would have to do it pro se i suppose. thank you for your advice

 

[leighhyacinth]

When did this occur?

on 8/31/2020 the grandparent and her boyfriend filed a complaint for child custody and on 9/18/2020 an agreed judgement entry was posted to the clerk of courts website. my daughter said it was at that hearing that my daughter was coerced into agreeing to allow these people to have custody of the child, that she was afraid. she said this woman said she had fingerprints that she was going to plant on some evidence to have her arrested if she did not comply (Whaaat???) my poor child has been bullied, manipulated and is devastated. last night they kicked my daughter out of the house now that they have what they want. they will not even allow her to get her possessions without harrassing her. I had to call the police on them last night because they would not let her leave with some of her clothing. the police did nothing but my daughter was able to leave at that time. this woman is out of her mind bonkers, who acts like this? and what kind of court would grant custody to such a crazed individual? so many questions. I am ranting. please excuse me. ty for your inquiry.

 

[stealth2]

The biggest problems (IMO) are that (a) your daughter has no proof of abuse and (b) your daughter isn't doing anything herself. I'm sorry, but she's 27. She needs to pull up her big girl pants and take charge of this situation. Your job is to provide a shoulder, an ear, a nudge. Help with a lawyer if needed.

 

[commentator]

The fact that you are so into all this hyperbole and "this happened" and "that happened" is a pretty strong indicator that this is mostly about what you want, not what your daughter seems to want. That she says all this coercion took place when the hearing was going on, and she rolled over for it so neatly is a little suspicious to me. If she wants this situation to change, you can certainly help her get an attorney, but until then, keep yourself out of the whole situation. No, you do not need to file motions, because no, you do not know quite a bit about the law. Bringing up past bad acts and mistreatments that you have no proof for, where no charges were pressed do not help and will not help in the future. Your daughter needs an attorney. The best thing you can do is help her find this attorney, pay for this attorney, and then let the attorney do what they can, what your daughter wants....."she has not demonstrated to me any behaviour that would indicate she is on drugs" for some reason raises my red flags pretty high. People tend to associate with others who have some kind of common interests, and you may not know a whole lot about what has been going on in your daughter's life while she has been staying with these other people. Now she is thrown out, and they have the child. Make sure your daughter is on the higher ground and will be capable of acting in her child's best interests in the first place.

 

[LdiJ]

The fact that you are so into all this hyperbole and "this happened" and "that happened" is a pretty strong indicator that this is mostly about what you want, not what your daughter seems to want. That she says all this coercion took place when the hearing was going on, and she rolled over for it so neatly is a little suspicious to me. If she wants this situation to change, you can certainly help her get an attorney, but until then, keep yourself out of the whole situation. No, you do not need to file motions, because no, you do not know quite a bit about the law. Bringing up past bad acts and mistreatments that you have no proof for, where no charges were pressed do not help and will not help in the future. Your daughter needs an attorney. The best thing you can do is help her find this attorney, pay for this attorney, and then let the attorney do what they can, what your daughter wants....."she has not demonstrated to me any behaviour that would indicate she is on drugs" for some reason raises my red flags pretty high. People tend to associate with others who have some kind of common interests, and you may not know a whole lot about what has been going on in your daughter's life while she has been staying with these other people. Now she is thrown out, and they have the child. Make sure your daughter is on the higher ground and will be capable of acting in her child's best interests in the first place.

Based on what I have read, I see this situation a little differently than you do. I see the OP's daughter as someone who has lived with bullying and verbal abuse and has been squashed down for so long that she honestly believed that the woman had her fingerprints and would use them to falsely get her arrested and send her to jail. I agree that they need an attorney but apparently neither one of them has any financial means to do so.

I think grandma should file for grandparent visitation because it would be almost a slam dunk case in this situation, because the child is in the custody of a grandparent, not a parent. If grandma gets visitation both she and mom could at least see the child.

I think that OP's daughter should be encouraged to get a job ASAP and save her money to get a lawyer to help her stand up to these people and at least get visitation herself, if not custody of her child back. As described, I don't think that the OP's daughter is capable of standing up to these people without a lawyer to shield and protect her.

 

[Zigner]

... my daugher did name her bf as the father on the certificate yes.

No, your daughter did not "name her bf as the father on the certificate". Your daughter and her boyfriend together, voluntarily, filed an Acknowledgement of Paternity Affidavit wherein they declared, under oath, that the bf is the father of the child.

 

[zddoodah]

can I file a motion to dismiss after the fact for duress?

No. First of all, only a party to the case can file a motion to dismiss. Second, a motion to dismiss cannot be filed after the case has already concluded. Third, it's not at all clear exactly what happened. You wrote that the other grandmother "threatened her with harm, and that she would set her up and have her arrested." Threatened her how? What harm? Have her arrested for what? Has your daughter committed one or more crimes for which criminal prosecution might be appropriate? Did you witness any of this? Why didn't your daughter just tell this woman to blow off? If most folks were confronted with a threat to "have him or her arrested," they would respond with "good luck with that" -- especially where custody of a child is at issue. By the way, what role did the child's father play in all this?

failure to provide evidence?

Evidence typically isn't necessary in an uncontested case.

the father of the child never had a paternity test so this woman may not even be the paternal grandparent. . . . this woman has a history of violence, has attacked my daughter in the past

All of which makes it all the more baffling that your daughter agreed to this.

please tell me what motions I can file and how can i become a party to this case

You can't.

You can, however, help your daughter hire an attorney to do whatever is possible to try and reverse this.

 

[Ohiogal]

it was in Summit county domestic relations division, My daughter is 27 and the child is 2, my daugher did name her bf as the father on the certificate yes. ty for your assistance

Well you cannot file anything. And NO your daughter did not name her BF as father -- that was done through an affidavit of paternity. He is the legal father. A paternity test is not necessary. Was dad served a copy of the complaint? Did he sign the agreed entry? Send your daughter here with questions.

 

[Ohiogal]

Based on what I have read, I see this situation a little differently than you do. I see the OP's daughter as someone who has lived with bullying and verbal abuse and has been squashed down for so long that she honestly believed that the woman had her fingerprints and would use them to falsely get her arrested and send her to jail. I agree that they need an attorney but apparently neither one of them has any financial means to do so.

I think grandma should file for grandparent visitation because it would be almost a slam dunk case in this situation, because the child is in the custody of a grandparent, not a parent. If grandma gets visitation both she and mom could at least see the child.

I think that OP's daughter should be encouraged to get a job ASAP and save her money to get a lawyer to help her stand up to these people and at least get visitation herself, if not custody of her child back. As described, I don't think that the OP's daughter is capable of standing up to these people without a lawyer to shield and protect her.

You are completely WRONG LD. Grandmother does NOT have a slam dunk for grandparent visitation. You are completely wrong. I know that for a fact.

 

[Ohiogal]

I have read the case docket. Your daughter HO lived with DR and MS and AL as well your granddaughter IL ... how long did that go on? No one forced your daughter to agree. You need to realize that if MS (if he was born in 1979) is arrested on the capias that has been out since 2011, that could be a change in circumstance in your granddaughter's life. Your daughter would then be able to try to get her back. She could also attempt to appeal based on what was done at the case management conference if it were on the record. She can also enforce the visitation that she should have been awarded or appeal on the basis that no visitation was awarded or file for visitation.