Texas father regains child custody of son

On Behalf of | Aug 24, 2011 | Firm News

A Texas father who lost child custody of his son ten years ago regained child custody of his son recently because of a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court. It turns out the son performed better in school while he was spending time with his father. A lower court ruled that the mother relinquished child custody of the son to the father, and the appellate and Texas Supreme Court agreed.

In 2001 the mother and father from Texas divorced, and the mother obtained primary custody and monthly child support payments. Over the course of living with his mother, the son supposedly got into multiple fights and did not perform well in school. At some point the mother allowed the son to live with his father in Norway where the father was serving in the military. Because of the changed circumstances, the father filed a motion to modify the divorce order in 2009. The mother challenged the motion.

During the recent challenge the father and mother both represented themselves in court. In the motion to modify the divorce order, the father plead that his former wife voluntarily relinquished their son to him. During the initial hearing, the father testified to the court about how his son had attended 10 different schools, wore red and threw gang signs while living with the mother. He also submitted police reports that documented his son getting into fights.

The father explained that after the mother agreed to allow the son to stay with him in Norway he fought less and studied more. Two teachers from Norway wrote letters in support of the progress the son had made and the father submitted the letters to the court to support his position.

The mother testified that she had only agreed to allow her son to live with his father for one year and that she had moved to a better neighborhood.

The trial court judge ruled in the father’s favor and gave him the exclusive right to decide where his son should reside. The Ninth Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court agreed with the ruling.

Source: setexasrecord.com, “Texas Supreme Court allows dad to regain custody of son,” Steve Korris, Aug. 23, 2011

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