Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
my boyfriend of 3 n 1/2ys has 3 children ages 3, 5, 8. he has a legal custody agreement with the mother (he gets them one week she gets them a week) but hey have not followed this agreement for 2 yrs. he has had their 5ys for 2 yrs. the child mother signed a paper in front of the notary giving him permission to make decisions. the other kids have been living with the materal grandmother and visit their dad on weekends, which everyone has been ok with until recently. now he has lived with his mother who has helped with th 5 yr old care. he recently moved in with me and because he took his daughter which upset his mom. both grandmothers are having the mother file for emergency custody. the mother is a drug addict, doesnt have a stable home, and her own mother has called the police because of her violent outbursts. we have everything set up at our home for her. can they do this? can they be granted custody if the child is in no danger, has a stable home, and isn't being abused in anyway?
1 Answer from Attorneys
A notarized custody agreement is not enforceable. The only sort of custody agreement that is enforceable is an agreement that was filed with the court and became a part of a court order.
Yes, she can file for custody and yes, she could be awarded custody. Either party can file custody at any time. Whether or not she will get it is a different story. The court will take multiple factors into consideration when deciding what the best interest of the child will be and then will enter an order accordingly. Its hard to be specific here as to what the likelyhood of success would be without knowing all of the facts.
Your boyfriends best bet is to retain a lawyer right away. The decision that the court makes will have long lasting affects on him and his children.
If he cannot afford a lawyer, I would suggest that he contact the local legal aid or contact the Cambria County Bar Association. My firm does accept child custody cases in Cambria County and we offer free phone consultations. If he would like to discuss this further, please feel free to have him contact me.
Justin C. Gearty Jr., Esquire
Phone: 717-490-6325
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.GeartyLawOffices.com
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