Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona
We are grandparents. Our son had a child with his girlfriend. She has a another child from a previous relationship.
They both moved in together and for the past year or so, my son has found she has been under the care of a psychologist and last week attempted suicide. The police were involved during her attempt.
She was placed in 24hr observations and later released. My son has fears she will attempt it again and wants out. She has made statements she will flee to Mexico with both kids including his daughter.
Our questions is how he can obtain sole custody and how fast can it occur. Second if as grandparents how to we obtain legal custody of our granddaughter..
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your son needs to move forward extremely quickly to try to obtain emergency custody as a result of her suicide attempt. If he has essentially raised the other child and the other father is not in the picture, then he may also be able to get non-parent custody of that child as well. If he does not act immediately, then the court may believe he doesn't think the situation is an emergency. He should consider using the court's self-service center to file the initial papers on his own, and then bring in an attorney later if necessary, just to move things forward as quickly as possible.
You mentioned also wanting to seek custody - are you saying that you'd like to get custody of your son's child INSTEAD of your son getting custody? It is extremely difficult to get custody as a non-parent - you must essentially show that neither parent is fit to have custody and that the child would be significantly detrimented if placed in the custody of either parent.
If you are wanting to proceed with custody of your son's child, then you cannot see the same attorney that he sees, since that would be a conflict of interest. Unless he has issues that would prevent him from having custody (e.g. substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence issues, etc.), the best course of action will probably be for you to support him in his action to seek custody of his child. Either way, I recommend that he (and you) speak with an attorney to determine the best course of action.
Your son can and should file for Temporary Emergency Custody. he can gain such orders literally in one day if a Judge is convinced that the child is in danger.
We can certainly help you consider and then pursue your options.
One of our attorneys can explain the issues and procedures better in person. As you can imagine, there is too much to cover via email. We offer free 1/2 hour consultations, in which we can discuss your matter in detail.
Please call us directly to discuss the specifics of your matter, or contact my assistant Gloria or my paralegal Jennifer to schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation
/s/ Rich J. Peters
RJ PETERS & ASSOC., P.C.
1422 North 2nd Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
602-254-7251
facsimile 602-254-1229
see our website at www.familylawaz.com
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