Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
I am going through a custody battle with my son's father at the moment. We had just went to JDR Court back in February where he was asking for full custody once again and lost. We share custody of our son 50/50. He appealed the judge's decision on March 24th in the Circuit Court and that appeal is scheduled for May 16th. This will be the sixth time inside a court house in the past two years. The father's girlfriend is living with him and is around my son every other week. When my son came home last night from spending the week with them, he was rather distant and quiet. I had asked him what was wrong, he said nothing. I asked if someone was mean to him during the week and he said yes. I had asked him who and he had said the girlfriend's name. I asked what did she do and he said that she slapped him. I had asked why and he told me the reason why, because he slapped his grandpa which is the father's father. What right does the girlfriend have to lay her hands on my child? They are not married, not engaged, just live in girlfriend and boyfriend. Two weeks ago my son had said don't make me slap you out of that chair while sitting at the table upon returning home. I had asked him who said that to him and he responded back with the girlfriend's name. Both his father and the girlfriend have my son calling her Anna Mommy. What gives them the right to take that right away from me when I am his mother and a very active part of his life. What can be done about this situation? The downside is that my son will be turning 3 in a couple months. Is there anything I can do to present this when we go back to court. A lot of my friends tell me to file a police report about this and have the police talk to my son since it is still fresh in his memory. I have been told this morning as well that she has slapped in the face as well.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Custody, visitation, and support issues often cause heated arguments. That is why it is good to remove yourself from situation and hire an attorney. Think of all the times you may be returning to court because you did not handle things properly the first time around without an attorney. Good luck. Sheryl Shane, Attorney at Law. Web: www.sherylshanelaw.com.