legal custody for parent with supervised visitation

[mmfb88]

I have full physical custody of my sons, ages three and six in Pennsylvania. My husband has supervised visitation of one weekend a month. Since he is on mental disability and cannot work, and barely supports the children, do I have legal custody by default? My sons wish to use my maiden name. I let them as ;ong as they do not wish to leagally change their names, is that legal for me to do under the circumstances?



[Edited by mmfb88 on 06-16-2001 at 08:44 AM]

 

[morning_angel]

At ages 3 and 6, I find it difficult to believe that your sons wish to use your maiden name, without coercion from you. How confusing will it be to these children for you to "allow" them to use one name, while their legal name is different. Not to mention that you could be putting them in a difficult situation regarding school, benefits and other areas. Do you think this is something you really want to get into with them?

You said he "barely supports the children." Perhaps if he is on disability and is making an effort to support them, he may be doing all he can. Does your divorce/custody agreement offer any information on who has legal custody? If not, you may want to get that clarified. I don't think you can have that "by default" although having them in your custody does give you a certain amount of "leeway" regarding decisions.

Good Luck!