Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Sole Custody of 9 yr old son

My husband has sole legal & physical custody of his 9 yr old son. His ex-wife has visitation with �reasonable notice�. 31 months ago, she moved and said that she would contact him once she was settled. He never heard from her. My husband and son lived with my husband�s mother until last August. His ex-wife had also lived at the same location before they were divorced. In August 2005, we bought a house in Highland and moved. Our home phone number is under my husband�s name and listed. A few weeks ago, she contacted him and accused him of kidnapping their son and hiding him from her. She has left messages on our answering machine telling their son that �his dad kidnapped him, kept him from her, and hid him from her�. My husband did say that she could visit their son. The only stipulations were that they would meet at a neutral location, she would not be left alone with him, and she could not leave with him. His ex-wife became extremely angry and argued that she had visitation rights and could take him back to Missouri with her without his approval. Their son does not want to see her, and we do not want to force him. He has been diagnosed as bipolar. What options do we have?


Asked on 12/26/06, 4:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Zedrick Braden III Ainsworth & Associates PC

Re: Sole Custody of 9 yr old son

Hello and Happy Holidays. In my

opinion your husband should go back to

Court and have the visitation order

modified so that visitation is supervised and your stepchild's mother

should be ordered to undergo counseling, before any further visitation. Her act of leaving those kinds of messages on your phone will confuse your stepson, especially since he is bipolar. This

is a very serious matter and your husband should take immediate action before matters get out of hand. As the custodial parent, he is well within his rights to even get an order

of protection against the mother, if her actions and behavior threaten the welfare of your stepson. Your husband certainly needs legal representation, and the sooner he takes action, the better. The Court may want to appoint a guardian ad litem/child representative to represent the interest of your stepson, but this is to your husband's advantage. I will be happy to discuss this matter with you further and in more detail.

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Answered on 12/26/06, 4:42 pm


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