Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon
My husband's ex girlfriend lives in OR with their almost two year old daughter. We are stationed with the marines in Hawaii. He has barely seen her due to two deployments and the fact that the mother wont allow him to take her, and wont bring her out here. He tried to see her with post deployment leave after the first deplyment during which she was born, but mom barely let him (30 minutes total).
Now she screwed up his new leave, by moving, after she was told he needed an address to request leave by a certian date. She changed the location back and forth and finally didn't say where should would be until it was too late.
Mother has had CPS involved not by our initiation because of her choice of male company. Also, she told us a boyfriend attacked her and she was being stalked by him and then now is back together with that same boyfriend less than a month later. He suppodedly attacked her in front of daughter. there have been various allegations of drug abuse made, but always recanted because they knew the mother. The most recent was the boyfriend who dropped it when she got back together with him.
My husband is very concerned for the well being of his daughter. Mother has lost her job four times in babies life, threatened to cry rape if he went after rights, and told him she wanted a boyfriend to adopt her daughter (at 6months) but then took it back and asked for money. We have a ton of documentation.
Is there any chance of getting custody?? We only want what is best for his daughter, and he's tried his hardest to see her! He is on the birth certificate, there is not a custody or child support legal agreement, just their verbal agreement which he began to pay as soon as she put him on the birth certificate. We have a copy of the birth certificate, and documentation of everything, down to the last few months what every single phone call was about and dates and times.
The mother seems unstable. He made amistake being with her, they were only together two weeks when he was fresh out of basic! He only wants what is best for his daughter, what should we do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The first step is to establish permanent custody and a parenting plan for your husband. This is a procedure where the court will review what is in the best interest for his child. Your husband has had little contact with his daughter, but a parenting time plan would set up scheduled times when he is available to get to know her. If the Mother is found to be "unfit" it is possible that your Husband could be awarded custody, but that may be difficult to prove. Issues of endangerment such as by placing her with in violent living suitation is not a positive reflection of her choices. He should start by contacting a JAG officer who can refer him to an attorney in Oregon who is familiar with military leave and Oregon law. Oregon court's are based on the county where the Mother and child lives so it would be best to use a lawyer familiar with the local rules. Good luck.
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