My brother is just heading into a nasty separation and custody battle. He has a 9-year-old son with his common-law wife. They currently live together in a basement apartment but have just started the legal battle for custody and support. The wife wants my brother to move out, leave the child behind and pay her spousal and child support. My brother wants her to move out and leave the child behind. He has been the sole parent for the child's 9 years, does all of the parenting, homework, doctors etc appointments, parent-teacher meetings, the list goes on. She has done very little with this child but wants custody because it represents $$ for her.
Until they actually separate, my brother is trying his best to cohabitate and continue to take care of his son without disrupting his routine as much as possible.
The mother has started to take the child out on Saturday mornings and not returning until later the next day (she goes to one of her adult children's homes and says they are going to a 'sleepover'). My brother has tried to discuss this with her as this is against his wishes but she will not listen. It isn't fair because the weekends are the only time he can spend quality time with his son (as weeknights are filled with homework etc) but she just doesn't care. There's nothing my brother can do about it, she just keeps the kid out for the whole weekend. There have been times when my brother told her to make sure the child is home by a certain time on the Sunday because of other commitments but she just doesn't show up with him, leaving my brother very frusterated and helpless.
They both have a right to spend time with their child, but my brother is having his right taken away. He has no option, he won't physically stand in her way, he just tries to reason with her but she is unreasonable.
The child has often expressed to his dad that he doesn't want to go but she takes him anyways. What right does she have to do this every weekend when they haven't gone through a custody battle yet and the courts haven't decided that she gets him every weekend?
It is killing me to watch how helpless my brother is in this situation as all he wants is to spend time with his son on weekends.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Until they actually separate, my brother is trying his best to cohabitate and continue to take care of his son without disrupting his routine as much as possible.
The mother has started to take the child out on Saturday mornings and not returning until later the next day (she goes to one of her adult children's homes and says they are going to a 'sleepover'). My brother has tried to discuss this with her as this is against his wishes but she will not listen. It isn't fair because the weekends are the only time he can spend quality time with his son (as weeknights are filled with homework etc) but she just doesn't care. There's nothing my brother can do about it, she just keeps the kid out for the whole weekend. There have been times when my brother told her to make sure the child is home by a certain time on the Sunday because of other commitments but she just doesn't show up with him, leaving my brother very frusterated and helpless.
They both have a right to spend time with their child, but my brother is having his right taken away. He has no option, he won't physically stand in her way, he just tries to reason with her but she is unreasonable.
The child has often expressed to his dad that he doesn't want to go but she takes him anyways. What right does she have to do this every weekend when they haven't gone through a custody battle yet and the courts haven't decided that she gets him every weekend?
It is killing me to watch how helpless my brother is in this situation as all he wants is to spend time with his son on weekends.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
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