Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
Can someone (me) have their parental rights or visitations restricted or taken away due to previous inexcusable actions that occurred because of an improperly diagnosed mental illness? I am bipolar with PTSD and OCD. I have been considered disabled for over two years. Since being properly diagnosed, receiving the correct treatment and being placed on the correct medications there have been no issues/episodes. I also have the full support of my psychiatrist, therapist, outreach worker and case worker from DMH. I have never mentally, physically or sexually harmed my child. I was considered to have been neglectful and having endangered my child related to my actions (self-harm, suicidal ideation & suicidal gesture). There was a previous court hearing in which my ex-husband tried to have my parental rights terminated and to not allow unsupervised visitation. The judge allowed the supervised visits but refused to rule on the legal custody request. We have another hearing coming up and I am unsure of what is going to happen. Unfortunately, my ex has a "fancy" lawyer and I am representing myself. I have tried and tried to obtain legal representation (pro-bono) with no success. I guess I am trying to prepare myself and to understand the law(s) related to this case. Is there laws related to situations like this? Thanks in advance for any information.
1 Answer from Attorneys
The short answer is yes. Seek advice from lawyer of the day, pro-bony legal service association, county bar association lawyer referral services. You can also go to the local law library for MCLE books on the subject.
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