Custody & Visitation questions and answers by state

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Custody & Visitation questions and answers

• My child’s mother never wanted her and has attacked and tried to choke her.

  Asked in Lafayette, AL | March 11, 2026

  Mom has domicile custody, but the 2 children have lived with grandparents. Mom has a younger daughter who called CPS to protect her 1/2 sister (she lives with her dad). Mom pretends to want my daughter. but continually tries to harm her. Mom has other children, including a son recently given up for adoption. I need help. I want full custody of my children. What should I do?

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• I want to know if I still have rights to get my child back, and if so, how would I go about starting the process?

  Asked in Dallas, TX | July 11, 2026

  A couple of years back, my baby's mother got her kids taken away, and one of them happened to be my daughter. We were going through a separation when she was going through CPS, but I stayed around to go to court and visit with my daughter, and now I've got my stuff together. I have my own place, and I’ve been working at the same job for over 15 years. I’m trying to see what I can do to get my daughter back.

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• What can I do about unlawful visitation and interference?

  Asked in Cook County, IL | January 12, 2026

  My ex-wife is not allowing me for my visitation and refused to send the kids to school. What should I do?

  Answered by 3 attorneys

  

• What Factors Do Illinois Family Courts Take Into Consideration When Making Child Custody Determinations?

  Asked in Naperville, IL | March 14, 2018

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• The mother of my child is causing my child mental distress and making him say things to me he normally would not say.

  Asked in Oshkosh, WI | April 9, 2026

  The mother of my child is upset because I did not give her money for something that was not for my child but for her. We are not together anymore and we do not have a custody agreement in place. If I do not give in to her every command she will keep my child from me and then bombard my phone with texts from text apps where I have to continously block numbers. If she cant call me she will then use the child's phone to call and berate me. She will say things like I am causing my child so much pain, I am a horrible father, and that I do not even love my child. She then forces my child to say things he normally would not say, like "I don't want anything to do with you," "I'm done with you," etc. You can hear in his voice he's scared, and a lot of things are rehearsed, occasionally causing him to cry or have anxiety. Today alone she has called me over 25 times. I have tried mediation, but she will not start it. I am very worried for my child's mental status, as he's only 10 and already in therapy for anxiety. She will tell him anything to turn him against me, even though it is not true. She is doing everything in her power to control me.

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• My parental rights were terminated and I feel like there were many errors and rights violated. Next steps?

  Asked in Mayville, ND | August 9, 2026

  Children removed from there dads home where they resided, I have never had a open cps case regarding me as subject. Never had a cps worker visit me in my home after children removed, never invited to join in on dr appointment, mental health appointments, school functions nothing regarding my children. Reunification remained with weekly phone call and monthly visit that occurred every 2 weeks. Untill they allowed children to make a choice of not talking seeing or anything from there dad. Then my visit dropped to 1 monthly visit with my 2 daughters and 2 monthly visit with there brother. Time was removed . List goes on. Un updated case plans, lack of communication. 2 foster homes stating how horrible communication was there was a lack of any assistance. And a gut feeling. That something is wrong

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• My son is 15 years old and wants to come live with me. How do I go about doing this?

  Asked in Toms River, NJ | January 6, 2026

  I live in SC, and my son, with permission from a NJ judge, lived with me for 7 years. His father then filed for custody, and they granted it to him and moved my son to NJ. My son is very unhappy, and it has been horrible for years. I did absolutely nothing wrong to have my son taken away. My son acts one way with me (his true self) and completely differently with his father (he has learned how to survive). I pay child support. My son wants to come home to his family and me, his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. What are my options?

  Answered by 2 attorneys

  

• CPS took my kids and they are not safe now that CPS took them. How do I get my kids back?

  Asked in Marysville, CA | April 22, 2026

  My daughter, who was an honor roll student 4 years in a row, is in the hospital from trying to kill herself. Taken due to a so-called domestic violence situation between my husband and myself but it wasn't like that at all. My daughter and son are doing great in school and have all their shots, and my daughter has autism and she was always smiling and happy but now she's not herself and she keeps trying to hurt herself. I had a visit with her and she's not hersel. I'm so scared for her. She was a happy little girl, very sweet, and now I don't know. I need my kids home where they are safe they are not safe now that cos took them please help me with this situation

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• Can I move out of my house with my child before filing for divorce?

  Asked in Martinsville, IN | March 28, 2026

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• How do I gain legal custody of my granddaughter? Daughter is unstable. Granddaughter lives with us full-time.

  Asked in Lafayette, IN | December 11, 2025

  My granddaughter has lived full-time with us since she was born. She is 7 years old. My daughter has been in and out of our house for the past three to four years. She is unstable and inconsistent with her financial support. Our daughter has allowed us access to school and medical decisions, but we need to make it more permanent. We would like to be her primary parent. Unfortunately, we are not able to pay $3-5,000 for a lawyer. We think this will be fairly simple and not contested. What are my options?

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• If someone used a protective order to get around a custody hearing can that be used back against them?

  Asked in Bunnell, FL | February 25, 2026

  My son's mother tried to move to FL in 2023 without my consent. I filed a custody hearing to resolve the issue, but she filed for a protective order to bypass the hearing and gain custody. I was not aware of the filing til a couple days before the hearing which I had to do via zoom since I did not live in FL and did not have an attorney due to short timing and the belief that since the allegations were false and thrown out in Maryland before multiple times the outcome would be the same, they however awarded her 7 years and full custody  In the months after Maryland was awarded the rightful jurisdiction, I was awarded primary custody after proving to the court I was a stable individual. Since then, she has tried to file multiple false claims in Maryland for protective orders and accusations, which have been dismissed. I am now looking to relocate and am fearful that this order will be used maliciously against me in other places, and I am trying to figure out the best way to proceed, especially since we have a child that she has visitation to. She has taken the child against the order and run off to FL before as well, last year, and held him for 6 months.

  Answered by 1 attorney

  

• I want to change the child custody arrangement after the arrest of the father. How hard is that?

  Asked in Irving, TX | July 20, 2026

  I want to change the child custody arrangement. My girlfriend and I have lived together for the last three years. She is pregnant now. She has a 12-year-old daughter with another person. Her father gets visitation on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekend of the month. Over this last weekend, he was arrested for Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Imminent Danger of Bodily Injury (Bond: $50,000.00 Surety Bond), Driving While Intoxicated Third or More (Bond: $30,000.00 Surety Bond).

  Answered by 1 attorney