shore_girl
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland
First the background:
Ok, my situation is that a year ago, my former landlord decided to not renew our lease forcing us to move our home. We own the home, but were renting his land. We weren't asked to leave because we were bad tenants, but because he discovered that we practiced a non-mainstream religion that he didn't agree with. Suffice to say if I could have proven that that was the reason, I would have taken him to court, but I couldn't so that is that.
We own a mobile home, and due to many communities rules (many insist on mobile homes being brand new or they won't accept them) we had a hard time finding a new community for our home. My family made the suggestion that we stay in a home that my grandmother had recently purchased until we could situate our home. Granted, I should have been wary as my family is very controlling and manipulative, but my first concern was that my kids had a safe place to stay. My husband had just prior to our move been involved in a serious car accident and I had been a stay at home mom, so neither of us were working and were short on resources.
After beginning staying with my family, the manipulation started. My grandmother started ridiculous fights with my husband (my family has never liked him for no other reason than there is an age difference between he and I). She blamed everything that happened to us (the lease not being renewed) on him and accused us of abusing our children. She and my mother reported us to CPS and had us investigated. My mother is mentally unstable as it is....bipolar and years ago decided she didn't need her meds anymore...and she's been obsessed with my son since birth and completely ignores my daughter.
At the same time as they filed this false claim with CPS, my mother also filed for custody of my children claiming that my husband and I were unfit parents. CPS ruled that the entire claim was unfounded, and even the investigator speculated that it was set up so that my mother could try to obtain custody of my son, though that was stated off the record. She advised us to get as far away from my family as possible..advice we took to heart.
We immediately packed up and, with help of an old friend of my husband, returned to our original county of residence and moved into a motel while still trying to locate our house. While there, I obtained employment, we enrolled our children in school, and my husband continued to recover from his accident.
Finally we relocated our home and moved back into it. The court in my parents county (where the case was filed) appointed a GAL for my children even though it was parents vs. a third party and even she admitted that we didn't have the same legal standing as parent vs. parent. At our first hearing, it was the GALs recommendation that the children remain in our custody, however, she was suggesting GPV (grandparent visitation). I did oppose as my parents and grandmother (who was also in on the hearing) are toxic in the worst kind of way. Even after providing testimony that my parents have never put forth an effort to have a relationship with my children (I always had to take the children to visit them, they refused to visit my home), the Master proceeded to tell my husband and I that she was recommending GPV.
During this time, there was a case in the MD Court of Appeals basically involving the same situation. We tried to have the case put on hold until the outcome of that case was decided, but the Master refused. I had to file exceptions to stay the visitation (which I did), and since then, the Court of Appeals has handed down its decision.
The Court of Appeals has ruled that visitation is a form of temporary custody and that without threshold findings of parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances, the best interest standard cannot be applied. A judge issued a new ruling in my case that denies the Master's recommendation and orders us to return to court to provide new testimony for the Master to make a ruling consistent with the Case that was just handed down.
Ok...here is my question(s):
Since the case was filed in a county that I never was officially a resident of (we briefly stayed with my family in their county, but our official residence remained the county we had been living in), would it make sense for me to motion for the court to dismiss the case entirely since that county legally has no jurisdiction over my family?
Also, would it make sense for me to also motion for the case to be dismissed since CPS ruled the accusation of abuse to be unfounded?
Is there a way that introducing into evidence the fact that, after the initial hearing where I presented the evidence that CPS ruled the report unfounded (I had the paperwork from CPS), my grandmother proceeded to leave the court room and tell my husband's friend that had been helping us that my husband was definitely abusing my son can go to show that my parents and grandmother are toxic and are not a good influence for my children to be around thus showing that GPV is inadvisable?
Also, during the hearing, the Master ordered that my husband and I were not to speak of my parents in front of my children even in the privacy of our own home. Does she have the authority to do so since, to me, this seems a violation of Constitutional rights since I believe we are granted the right to expect no unreasonable intrusion into the privacy of our own homes from the Government? Also, it seems to me, that she is trying to infringe on my First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. My husband and I were ruled to be fit parents, and the Master herself stated that there was no reason to take custody of our children from us, so how does she rate the authority to inject herself into the privacy of my home by trying to order us what we can or cannot say?
These are just a few questions I've been trying to find the answers to before we have to attend our second hearing this coming Monday and I appreciate any advice in the matter.
First the background:
Ok, my situation is that a year ago, my former landlord decided to not renew our lease forcing us to move our home. We own the home, but were renting his land. We weren't asked to leave because we were bad tenants, but because he discovered that we practiced a non-mainstream religion that he didn't agree with. Suffice to say if I could have proven that that was the reason, I would have taken him to court, but I couldn't so that is that.
We own a mobile home, and due to many communities rules (many insist on mobile homes being brand new or they won't accept them) we had a hard time finding a new community for our home. My family made the suggestion that we stay in a home that my grandmother had recently purchased until we could situate our home. Granted, I should have been wary as my family is very controlling and manipulative, but my first concern was that my kids had a safe place to stay. My husband had just prior to our move been involved in a serious car accident and I had been a stay at home mom, so neither of us were working and were short on resources.
After beginning staying with my family, the manipulation started. My grandmother started ridiculous fights with my husband (my family has never liked him for no other reason than there is an age difference between he and I). She blamed everything that happened to us (the lease not being renewed) on him and accused us of abusing our children. She and my mother reported us to CPS and had us investigated. My mother is mentally unstable as it is....bipolar and years ago decided she didn't need her meds anymore...and she's been obsessed with my son since birth and completely ignores my daughter.
At the same time as they filed this false claim with CPS, my mother also filed for custody of my children claiming that my husband and I were unfit parents. CPS ruled that the entire claim was unfounded, and even the investigator speculated that it was set up so that my mother could try to obtain custody of my son, though that was stated off the record. She advised us to get as far away from my family as possible..advice we took to heart.
We immediately packed up and, with help of an old friend of my husband, returned to our original county of residence and moved into a motel while still trying to locate our house. While there, I obtained employment, we enrolled our children in school, and my husband continued to recover from his accident.
Finally we relocated our home and moved back into it. The court in my parents county (where the case was filed) appointed a GAL for my children even though it was parents vs. a third party and even she admitted that we didn't have the same legal standing as parent vs. parent. At our first hearing, it was the GALs recommendation that the children remain in our custody, however, she was suggesting GPV (grandparent visitation). I did oppose as my parents and grandmother (who was also in on the hearing) are toxic in the worst kind of way. Even after providing testimony that my parents have never put forth an effort to have a relationship with my children (I always had to take the children to visit them, they refused to visit my home), the Master proceeded to tell my husband and I that she was recommending GPV.
During this time, there was a case in the MD Court of Appeals basically involving the same situation. We tried to have the case put on hold until the outcome of that case was decided, but the Master refused. I had to file exceptions to stay the visitation (which I did), and since then, the Court of Appeals has handed down its decision.
The Court of Appeals has ruled that visitation is a form of temporary custody and that without threshold findings of parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances, the best interest standard cannot be applied. A judge issued a new ruling in my case that denies the Master's recommendation and orders us to return to court to provide new testimony for the Master to make a ruling consistent with the Case that was just handed down.
Ok...here is my question(s):
Since the case was filed in a county that I never was officially a resident of (we briefly stayed with my family in their county, but our official residence remained the county we had been living in), would it make sense for me to motion for the court to dismiss the case entirely since that county legally has no jurisdiction over my family?
Also, would it make sense for me to also motion for the case to be dismissed since CPS ruled the accusation of abuse to be unfounded?
Is there a way that introducing into evidence the fact that, after the initial hearing where I presented the evidence that CPS ruled the report unfounded (I had the paperwork from CPS), my grandmother proceeded to leave the court room and tell my husband's friend that had been helping us that my husband was definitely abusing my son can go to show that my parents and grandmother are toxic and are not a good influence for my children to be around thus showing that GPV is inadvisable?
Also, during the hearing, the Master ordered that my husband and I were not to speak of my parents in front of my children even in the privacy of our own home. Does she have the authority to do so since, to me, this seems a violation of Constitutional rights since I believe we are granted the right to expect no unreasonable intrusion into the privacy of our own homes from the Government? Also, it seems to me, that she is trying to infringe on my First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. My husband and I were ruled to be fit parents, and the Master herself stated that there was no reason to take custody of our children from us, so how does she rate the authority to inject herself into the privacy of my home by trying to order us what we can or cannot say?
These are just a few questions I've been trying to find the answers to before we have to attend our second hearing this coming Monday and I appreciate any advice in the matter.
