Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
Parent Rights before custdoy has been established
I'm in the middle of a divorce. we have 2 children and have gone to court to establish custody. We have settled in one case and have agreed to joint with my soon to be x-wife as the primary care giver. There is one more court case to finalize custody. I asume that since we have to go back to court over custody it has NOT been established in the courts eyes.
I have heard that there is a law in Virginia that states some thing to the effect. That if a party has over night guests of the opposite sex, and the children are in the home, before custody has been decided. The other party involved in the case may obtain full custody of the children.
I have tried to look on the net to conferm wether or not this ''law'' does exist but have had no luck. Can some one help me find out if it is a real law.
Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Parent Rights before custdoy has been established
I may just be reading between the lines, but since you are apparently represented by an attorney in the divorce, it would not be proper for any other attorney to answer your question or advise you on this without your attorney's knowledge and consent.
Re: Parent Rights before custdoy has been established
It is not necessarily true that just because you have a court date to settle custody that custody has not been granted. That may be the case, but it may also be the case that the court has already granted custody temporarily to one parent and the court case will determine who should receive permanent custody. That being said, the fact that you do have a hearing coming up does imply that PERMANENT custody has not yet been decided.
As for sleep overs with the opposite sex. There is no per se rule that having someone else spend the night while the children are in the house are grounds for losing custody. However, you should certainly bring it up at trial because it is a factor that the court may consider...to determine whether the presence of this person overnight actually harms the children in some way. If the court determines that there is actual harm to the children the court MAY take it into consideration when determining custody. Again, however, there is no per se rule which would automatically disqualify that person from receiving custody.
Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to call my Fairfax office at 703-598-9220 or my Chevy Chase office at 301-652-0663.
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