Need Custody Agreement

[FredGarvin]

Hello Gals and Guys -

The state is Minnesota and possibly Wisconsin. I have a friend with a child. At the time she was living in Wisconsin, but moved back to Minnesota, which is where the custody agreement was filed/made. She said the agreement was 60-40, I'm not sure who had what, but a few years back the father took the child back to Wisconsin and she hasn't seen them since. At the time she signed the agreement, she didn't have a lawyer, but the father did. She remembers signing the agreement at an office, but not much else. She has the name of the fathers lawyer and called her, but she was not helpful. I don't know the details. She can't afford a lawyer and says Legal Aid/The Sheriff won't help without a custody agreement, but not seeing her kid is really hard on her. As a place to start, can anyone offer any guidance on how to get the custody agreement? Any other input would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks.

 

[Just Blue]

Hello Gals and Guys -

The state is Minnesota and possibly Wisconsin. I have a friend with a child. At the time she was living in Wisconsin, but moved back to Minnesota, which is where the custody agreement was filed/made. She said the agreement was 60-40, I'm not sure who had what, but a few years back the father took the child back to Wisconsin and she hasn't seen them since. At the time she signed the agreement, she didn't have a lawyer, but the father did. She remembers signing the agreement at an office, but not much else. She has the name of the fathers lawyer and called her, but she was not helpful. I don't know the details. She can't afford a lawyer and says Legal Aid/The Sheriff won't help without a custody agreement, but not seeing her kid is really hard on her. As a place to start, can anyone offer any guidance on how to get the custody agreement? Any other input would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks.

Please ask your friend to join, using her own user name, and we will assist her. Thank You.

 

[stealth2]

Agreed with Blue - it is extremely difficult to help through a third party with secondhand information. That said - surely she remembers the county the agreement was filed. She should start there in terms of getting a copy of the agreement. One hurdle she will need to jump is that it's been "several years," apparently, since she saw the child. A reintroduction period may be in order. And she should anticipate that the child may not feel too kindly towards her.

 

[t74]

You can best help your friend by assisting her in getting an attorney where the child lives.

You can help her identify the locations of records related to her situation; knowing the name and location of the child's father's attorney is a starting point since the initial filings were likely in the attorney's locals of practice.

 

[FredGarvin]

Thanks for the replies. I get that it's hard to help when you're feeling around in the dark. I'll pass along the information, which is all I can do. I said to her I thought she should contact the court, but when she said she signed it at an office with the fathers attorney, I didn't know what to think about it, not having any experience with courts and lawyers.

Any useful tips about finding a lawyer with no money? She said she tried to contact a few, but they all wanted thousands up front to do anything. I understand the lawyers have bills to pay, but her income has been reduced because of the pandemic. Thanks again.

 

[Just Blue]

Thanks for the replies. I get that it's hard to help when you're feeling around in the dark. I'll pass along the information, which is all I can do. I said to her I thought she should contact the court, but when she said she signed it at an office with the fathers attorney, I didn't know what to think about it, not having any experience with courts and lawyers.

Any useful tips about finding a lawyer with no money? She said she tried to contact a few, but they all wanted thousands up front to do anything. I understand the lawyers have bills to pay, but her income has been reduced because of the pandemic. Thanks again.

She needs to find out if the custody agreement that she signed was filed with the court.

She will need to educate herself so she can do this pro se. She won't learn by having others do the posting for her. If she really wants to have a relationship with her children she will have to work for it.

 

[t74]

She should get a second and third job and find an attorney who ill take payments. Borrow from family for the initial retainer.

She apparently does not live near the child so a DIY will be difficult.

Doing something wrong may make the situation worse.

 

[stealth2]

She could, of course, start with a consultation. Many lawyers will credit any fee for that towards the retainer if she s=chooses to go that way. She could also look for an attorney who will consider a payment plan.

 

[Just Blue]

She also strongly consider moving to the children's city/town.

 

[zddoodah]

Unfortunately, your friend didn't take care of her business in a proper way, so this predicament is entirely of her making.

For starters, were she and the father ever married? Or was the child born out of wedlock?

Was the agreement you mentioned part of a divorce or custody case? If the answer is no, then the document may be completely meaningless, and that's a mistake she made.

Why doesn't she have a copy? This is a document that is potentially of massive importance and it is, therefore, difficult to understand why she wouldn't have a copy.

You said that it's been "a few years" since she's seen her kid. Exactly how long is that? What's she been going on for all the time since?

If the agreement was filed with the court, she can obtain a copy that way.

Bottom line: she's going to need legal assistance. Since it's been "a few years," saving up money for the next several months and borrowing money shouldn't be too big a deal.

 

[FredGarvin]

Thanks zddoodah. I appreciate the help. You and others make some valid points. I can't answer a lot of questions as I simply don't know the answers, but I don't believe they were married. At the time this was occurring there were substance issues, which is now being worked on, but for whatever reason, they no longer have the paperwork. My first thought was to call the court, but when I learned the agreement was not signed at the courthouse, I then thought is the attorney even legally obligated to file it?

They said they tried to go the free consultation route, but no one would tell them anything useful without getting some money, which is understandable I guess. As I said the pandemic has cut into their income and for other reasons, a second or third job probably isn't an option at the time. It may be there's no good alternatives right now, but that can change down road. Thanks again for the help everyone.

 

[Just Blue]

Thanks zddoodah. I appreciate the help. You and others make some valid points. I can't answer a lot of questions as I simply don't know the answers, but I don't believe they were married. At the time this was occurring there were substance issues, which is now being worked on, but for whatever reason, they no longer have the paperwork. My first thought was to call the court, but when I learned the agreement was not signed at the courthouse, I then thought is the attorney even legally obligated to file it?

They said they tried to go the free consultation route, but no one would tell them anything useful without getting some money, which is understandable I guess. As I said the pandemic has cut into their income and for other reasons, a second or third job probably isn't an option at the time. It may be there's no good alternatives right now, but that can change down road. Thanks again for the help everyone.

Did you tell her about this site? Is she going to join and deal with this herself?

 

[zddoodah]

My first thought was to call the court, but when I learned the agreement was not signed at the courthouse, I then thought is the attorney even legally obligated to file it?

Even when agreements relate to pending legal cases, it is rare for the agreements to be signed at the courthouse, so I'm not sure why you're attributing any significance to the fact that the agreement may or may not have been signed at the courthouse. As for the question, whether your friend's baby daddy's lawyer was or wasn't obligated to file the agreement depends on a whole bunch of facts that we don't know.

 

[stealth2]

I'm wondering who "they" might be? And, frankly? the longer Mom waits to take action - the lower her odds.

Honestly? If you don't even know whether Mom & Dad were married -you're the wrong person to be asking for help.