msincognito
Member
What is the name of your state? Florida
Here is the situation: Brother and ex-SIL share custody of my 16 year old niece, with XSIL being custodial parent. They split when she was almost 9.
XSIL also has two children from a prior marriage, one of whom is a 23-year-old who got into a very serious car accident a year ago. My step nephew had a criminal record before the accident and suffered brain damage during it that makes his behavior erratic and violent. He is living with XSIL.
He has been threatening toward my niece. About nine months ago, things came to a head and niece moved in with her father. XSIL did not object, in fact, she essentially threw my niece out in the middle of the night, refused to let her take many possessions (and has disposed of the bulk of them since) and has cut off all contact with my niece until recently.
She initially agreed that my brother could stop paying child support. However, she rescinded this offer almost immediately. Paying child support plus providing sole support for my niece (along with an economic downturn) has pushed my brother to the financial edge. Earlier this year he filed a request (pro-se, unfortunately) to modify the custody motion and be declared the primary residential parent. (He was not asking for child support from XSIL, just to stop paying her for a child she was in no way supporting.)
In addition, he wants to have the custody order modified so that my niece can attend the high school near his house, which is better academically and doesn't require someone to drive her30 minutes to school every day. That school will not accept her without a modified custody order.
THey had the hearing yesterday. My brother expected it to be a slam-dunk, given that he had emails and voice-mails from his ex-wife in which she said my niece could not come back to live with her and refusing to see her on Christmas and Mother's Day. He also had a police report from an incident where my step-nephew put his first through a wall next to my niece's head, and an affidavit from a church counselor who said my niece's anxiety over living with her mother was very high, and that she was benefiting from a stable environment with my brother, his 2nd wife and 2 young half-siblings.
The judge refused to allow him or my niece to testify, said he saw no reason to alter custody arrangements and ended the hearing. XSIL has made no effort to have niece returned to her home; her main concern is that the checks keep coming. (To be fair she has her hands full with her son's rehab. Still, it seems clear to me that my niece would suffer if forced to live with her mother.)
I'm trying to figure out how/if this decision can be revisited. Obviously, brother needed to have an attorney in the first place but he didn't. (He didn't tell me he didn't or I would have reamed him out.) What I'm trying to figure out is whether he has a shot at overturning the judge's decision. Is it worth hiring an attorney now? What could be accomplished?
edit: I did find the statute that would seem to deal with this. Unfortunately, I am having a tough time deciphering it. It seems to say the court shall consider the "reasonable preference" of the child and any domestic violence, which is obviously no guarantee thta either of those would be a controlling factor. I will have to talk to my brother to find out if the judge mentioned/even knew about either of those situations. I do know the decision was delivered from the bench. There is no written order and he does not expect one.
Here is the situation: Brother and ex-SIL share custody of my 16 year old niece, with XSIL being custodial parent. They split when she was almost 9.
XSIL also has two children from a prior marriage, one of whom is a 23-year-old who got into a very serious car accident a year ago. My step nephew had a criminal record before the accident and suffered brain damage during it that makes his behavior erratic and violent. He is living with XSIL.
He has been threatening toward my niece. About nine months ago, things came to a head and niece moved in with her father. XSIL did not object, in fact, she essentially threw my niece out in the middle of the night, refused to let her take many possessions (and has disposed of the bulk of them since) and has cut off all contact with my niece until recently.
She initially agreed that my brother could stop paying child support. However, she rescinded this offer almost immediately. Paying child support plus providing sole support for my niece (along with an economic downturn) has pushed my brother to the financial edge. Earlier this year he filed a request (pro-se, unfortunately) to modify the custody motion and be declared the primary residential parent. (He was not asking for child support from XSIL, just to stop paying her for a child she was in no way supporting.)
In addition, he wants to have the custody order modified so that my niece can attend the high school near his house, which is better academically and doesn't require someone to drive her30 minutes to school every day. That school will not accept her without a modified custody order.
THey had the hearing yesterday. My brother expected it to be a slam-dunk, given that he had emails and voice-mails from his ex-wife in which she said my niece could not come back to live with her and refusing to see her on Christmas and Mother's Day. He also had a police report from an incident where my step-nephew put his first through a wall next to my niece's head, and an affidavit from a church counselor who said my niece's anxiety over living with her mother was very high, and that she was benefiting from a stable environment with my brother, his 2nd wife and 2 young half-siblings.
The judge refused to allow him or my niece to testify, said he saw no reason to alter custody arrangements and ended the hearing. XSIL has made no effort to have niece returned to her home; her main concern is that the checks keep coming. (To be fair she has her hands full with her son's rehab. Still, it seems clear to me that my niece would suffer if forced to live with her mother.)
I'm trying to figure out how/if this decision can be revisited. Obviously, brother needed to have an attorney in the first place but he didn't. (He didn't tell me he didn't or I would have reamed him out.) What I'm trying to figure out is whether he has a shot at overturning the judge's decision. Is it worth hiring an attorney now? What could be accomplished?
edit: I did find the statute that would seem to deal with this. Unfortunately, I am having a tough time deciphering it. It seems to say the court shall consider the "reasonable preference" of the child and any domestic violence, which is obviously no guarantee thta either of those would be a controlling factor. I will have to talk to my brother to find out if the judge mentioned/even knew about either of those situations. I do know the decision was delivered from the bench. There is no written order and he does not expect one.
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Covering courts as a newspaper reporter does not make me any kind of lawyer. Right now my efforts are focused on finding him an attorney who will do a consultation for a reasonable fee, but I'm not sure that a lawyer can do anything at this point unless they can prove an error of law.