Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: getting custody back of my children

Thank you for your question. This can be a very difficult problem, since custody under these circumstances is not necessarily easy to modify.

I would need additional facts to give you a reasonable answer, such as the age of your children, where they live (what state), with whom do they live, why you were incarcerated, and under what circumstances was the placement made with a family member.

The last question (under what circumstances were they placed with someone else) is perhaps the most important. Depending on the age of the children, I presume their placement was supervised by the court. Did this occur in family court (in the context of a divorce file), or in juvenile court (in the context of a CHIPS case). In either case, you will be required to return to court and petition for the return of the children to your custody.

It sounds as though you are making good progress, sobriety and employment are a great step, and if your circumstances are stable, and you have the capacity to care for the children, the court will almost certainly allow for increased visitation, although it is unlikely it will just summarily return the children to you -- not immediately at least.

If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact my office. My contact information is below.

Good luck.

Re: getting custody back of my children

Frankly, I need more information before I can give you a good answer.

Is there a court order that originally gave you custody? Did you transfer custody to the family member with another court order? Does the

person who now has custody refuse to give the children back? I think

you might need an attorney to help you.

Herbert C. Kroon

Attorney at Law

Chesley, Kroon, Harvey & Carpenter

[email protected]