Advice on joint custody

hamsterboy

Hi All
Posting a query on behalf of a friend.
She is a single mother and the "father" has applied to the court for joint custody (of the same child that when he found out she was gonna make an arrival into the world he left the mother, but thats for another thread)
Anyway, I know absolutely nothing about these matters but she was asking can she refuse custody, or fight his application.
He only has the kid one day a week, never overnight and NEVER weekends.... that would cramp his style :rolleyes:

Anyway as I said, I know nothing about such things so any advice for her would be great
Regards

HB

January

Of course she can object to it... but in the end a judge will make the decision.

James Jones

hamsterboy wrote: »

Posting a query on behalf of a friend.
She is a single mother and the "father" has applied to the court for joint custody (of the same child that when he found out she was gonna make an arrival into the world he left the mother, but thats for another thread)
Anyway, I know absolutely nothing about these matters but she was asking can she refuse custody, or fight his application.
He only has the kid one day a week, never overnight and NEVER weekends.... that would cramp his style :rolleyes:

The language used would indicate that the relationship between the parents is strained, to say the least. Your friend can make matters worse by refusing joint custody and fighting out in Court over something that is truly irrelevant.
Joint Custody is not exactly what it appears to be. As a single mother, your friend currently has Sole custody and Legal Guardianship. Her ex has no rights whatsoever. He can apply for custody and guardianship. He will most likely get Guardianship which is the important matter as it involves the father equally (supposedly) in decisions, such as school enrollments and medical procedures. However, this equal status is all but ignored other than for an application for a passport. As he has not sought guardianship, chances are he thinks joint custody is as important as it sounds. It isn't. The phrase "Joint Custody" is normally followed with the provision "with care and maintenance with the mother". This means that she can grant him joint custody but the current maintenance and contact stays as is but without the animosity of a Court case. The only reason a mother should not give joint custody or guardianship to a father is if she has some plan to emigrate in the future.

hamsterboy

Thanks for your advice
Yes relations between are strained..... to say the least
This:

James Jones wrote: »

The only reason a mother should not give joint custody or guardianship to a father is if she has some plan to emigrate in the future.

Could be why she doesnt want to grant it as she does have plans to maybe move back to the states at some time.....

Regards

HB

James Jones

hamsterboy wrote: »

Could be why she doesn't want to grant it as she does have plans to maybe move back to the states at some time.....

Her plans will be thwarted once he makes a Court application. He only needs to "APPLY" for custody rights and does not have to win, so your friend still can prevent matters from getting worse. If she says "Ok, you have Joint Custody (with main care and residence to the mother)", he has what he wants and she has no unnecessary acrimony, stress or expense caused by a Court case. He can have Joint Custody but still not be a Legal Guardian, which leaves your friend still making all the decisions herself.

Although this particular path might be hard for her to swallow, it is probably the most practical as her plan to move home is now virtually gone.