Well, who wants to know how can a mother lose custody of her child? Many people assume that the courts generally favor the mother when deciding custody. However, this is a myth and a misconception that has been proven wrong time and time again. The truth is that the courts are granting custody to fathers more and more, and this trend is expected to continue.
If you are a mom who has custody of your child, your ex may be able to reverse the court’s decision and revoke your custody rights based upon a certain set of circumstances. In fact, the reason you could lose custody of your child is almost always preventable. Let’s go to answer how can a mother lose custody of her child with me.
How Can a Mother Lose Custody of Her Child?
Let’s answer the question how can a mother lose custody of her child right now. Sadly, there are numerous ways a mother can lose her custody of her precious child. Luckily, the court will only reconsider custody if it is backed by solid evidence. It may seem like common sense to you; however, many mothers just like you have had their rights revoked annually due to one or more of the reasons listed below:
1. Physical Abuse Against Your Child or Ex
It is widely misunderstood that women are less likely to physically harm their child or ex-partner. If you have been inflicting any form of physical abuse such as kicking, scratching, burning, hitting etc., your ex has the legal right to file for a change in custody in court.
Your ex can appeal to the court and ask for sole custody of your child, which could result in you being granted supervised visitation rights. Unfortunately, if a Child Protective Services report or police record is filed against you, it will make the process of keeping your child significantly more difficult.
Moreover, if you have inflicted physical harm upon your former partner, it is likely that the court will award them custody of the child – especially if he/she has obtained a restraining order against you.
2. Emotional Abuse of Your Child
Although it may be more difficult to prove, emotionally abusing your child can still play an essential role in court proceedings when attempting to gain custody of the child. If you are habitually criticizing or harassing your offspring, that is classified as emotional abuse and this will bolster your ex-partner’s case if there are witnesses who have been present for such behavior.
3. Parental Alienation
How can a mother lose custody of her child? Parental alienation is increasingly gaining recognition from courts in many jurisdictions as an act of emotional abuse. If you attempt to condition or misinform your kid into disliking their other parent, this behavior would classify as psychological mistreatment – especially if the children are young and easily influenced.
Any type of alienating conduct which you engage with your child may land you before the judge and result in losing control over them.
4. Parenting Time Interference
If your ex-partner already has partial custody of your child, interfering with their parenting rights can lead to you losing yours. This behavior could look like: deliberately making it hard for them to visit, scheduling other activities in place of planned visits with the father and engaging in any activity that prevents time spent between parent and child. Be sure not to interfere as this can have serious consequences on both parents’ custodial rights!
In the event that your former partner accurately records every incidence of visitation rights interference, this information could be used against you in court and may result in a loss of custody.
5. Violation of a Court’s Order
Flouting the court’s directives is one of the quickest routes to losing your child. Unfortunately, there are several ways a mother can infringe upon these orders.
Court-ordered shared custody is just one example of an instance in which noncompliance can be deemed as interfering with parenting time. Other violations could include, but are not limited to: physical abuse, neglecting the agreed upon care for your child and/or disregarding a restraining order.
6. Any Form of Neglect
It may be difficult to establish neglect in a courtroom, yet it has been done before. When you fail to provide proper care for your child, people take notice. If this negligence is consistent enough, a judge could issue an altered custody order due to the evidence presented of your disregard for their well-being.
7. Bad Co-Parenting
If you and your former partner have agreed to a joint-custody arrangement, but your child is enduring while in your care, they may request the court for an alteration of custody.
In the event that rules are lacking within your household or if there are any signs of substance abuse amongst other issues with them such as school failure – it could lead to relinquishment of parental rights over the minor.
8. Drug/Alcohol Abuse and/or Addiction
If you are struggling with an addiction to alcohol or drugs, this can provide sufficient grounds for your ex to terminate your parental rights in court. Especially if you choose to drive while intoxicated with your young one inside the vehicle.
Here is 8 reasons can answer for the question how can a mother lose custody of her child.
Steps to Take Custody Away From the Mother
Steps to take custody away of mother will be the next topic to be answered in the series how can a mother lose custody of her child.
If you are a father and wondering how a mother can lose custody of her child, the truth is that it depends on whether there is a child custody order in place. Let’s look at a few scenarios:
1. If You Are Married with No Custody Order.
If your marriage is still intact, it’s within your partner’s rights to decide whether or not they want to proceed with a divorce or separation.
Fortunately, however, if you’re looking at child custody without having to resort to court-mandated action such as divorce and separation filing procedures, there are options available for fathers specifically in this situation. To get the ball rolling on obtaining a child custody arrangement outside of legal proceedings:
- Document the child’s mother’s misconduct and make any effort to come to a solution that stops the behavior.
- If your child’s mother doesn’t stop the misconduct, you should consult with an attorney.
- If you decide to seek a divorce or separation, you should have your attorney file a request with the court for child custody.
2. If You Are Unmarried and Don’t Have a Child Custody Order.
If you are a father and not married to your child’s mother, your attorney will need to file a parentage petition.
After this petition is filed with the court, you should serve the petition on your child’s mother or hire a process server to do this for you to avoid any unpleasant confrontation in front of your child. At the same time, you should file for and serve a request for an order that seeks child custody and parenting time.
If You Have A Child Custody Order in Place: If there is already a child custody order in place, then as a father wondering how a mother can lose custody of her child, you should do the following:
- Talk to the mother of your child, document the violation, and try to resolve it without getting the courts involved.
- File a contempt order to show cause against your child’s mother if her behavior violated the court order.
- You can request an order asking the court for a modification of the child custody order or parenting time order. The more serious the mother’s violation, the more likely you should seek sole custody of your child.
3. If Your Custody Order Is a Temporary Order.
If you have a temporary order, you have the same options available to you as if you had a custody order in place. You only need to show the court that a modification of the current custody order is in your child’s best interest.
4. If Your Custody Order Is From a Judgment.
Upon establishing a child custody order, you still have access to the same options. If you wish to make any major modifications, including legal custodianship or vast adjustments in parenting time, you must demonstrate an immense alteration of your circumstances and be prepared to illustrate why these changes would benefit your child most.
Now that we’ve gone over how can a mother lose custody of her child; let’s wrap up this discussion with our concluding section!
And if you want to know about grounds for full custody of child, to answer some of your questions and educate you, below is an outline of the grounds for obtaining complete custody, let’s check this article.
FAQs
Is there legal help available for mothers seeking custody rights?
Yes, there are various legal aid organizations that can help moms with custody cases. Contact your local court for assistance in obtaining a lawyer or other legal professionals who can provide guidance and counsel.
How does a court establish parental alienation?
The court will assess how long and to what extent the father has been influencing his children against the other parent, as well as considering any evidence of this behavior that is given, and parental alienation tactics are one of reasons fathers lose custody.
What exactly is a first right of refusal clause?
This provision states that before arranging for a babysitter or family member to care for the child, one parent must first offer the other parent the opportunity to do so. If this clause is included in a custody agreement and the father of the kid leaves his child with a neighbor or family member without first asking or notifying the mother, the father may lose custody of his child.
Conclusion
How can a mother lose custody of her child? As you can see, it takes some work, but you must always act in the best interest of your child.
If you allow the mother of your child to continuously violate a court order, all that does is let her think that the court orders are only a suggestion and that she doesn’t have to follow them. Doing nothing accomplishes nothing.
The longer you allow the mother of your child to get away with her behavior, the harder it may be for you to convince the court that you are taking the situation seriously and trying to act in your child’s best interest.
