Third Party Custody Dispute Michigan

[aqlprr]

Over 5 years ago I transferred custody of my children to a relative. I did this because I was having life difficulties due to the death of my first wife. I did this under duress because of pressure from protective services due to the fact that I had issues with abuse of prescription drugs after the wifes death. This relative took full legal and physical custody of my children but I retained my parental rights.

I have since completely turned my life around and have gotten remarried and also have purchased a beautiful home with separate bed rooms for my children. I have had no problems since the year 2000. I make a good living and have stayed extensively involved in my childrens lives.

My problem is -

The realtive who has custody does not want to return my children to me. I am having difficulty getting decent visitation time and am also experiencing various other problems with the way this relative is raising my children.

My question is -

If I go for custody do I fall under the standard parental presumption guidelines (when up against a third party in a custody dispute) or is this advantage forfeited because I actually signed custody over to the relative in 2001.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

[xena]

Over 5 years ago I transferred custody of my children to a relative. I did this because I was having life difficulties due to the death of my first wife. I did this under duress because of pressure from protective services due to the fact that I had issues with abuse of prescription drugs after the wifes death. This relative took full legal and physical custody of my children but I retained my parental rights.

I have since completely turned my life around and have gotten remarried and also have purchased a beautiful home with separate bed rooms for my children. I have had no problems since the year 2000. I make a good living and have stayed extensively involved in my childrens lives.

My problem is -

The realtive who has custody does not want to return my children to me. I am having difficulty getting decent visitation time and am also experiencing various other problems with the way this relative is raising my children.

My question is -

If I go for custody do I fall under the standard parental presumption guidelines (when up against a third party in a custody dispute) or is this advantage forfeited because I actually signed custody over to the relative in 2001.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

File for a custody change and take all proof of how your life is better now with you to court. As long as you can prove that the children will be better off with you than the relative you should do ok.

[aqlprr]

Court preference for Biological Parent

It is established case law that biological parents are usually given preference over a third party in a custody dispute. It is up to the third party to prove that the parent is unfit to raise his/her children. For example - If a divorced couple has a child that lives with the mother and the mother subsequently dies, the step father may try for legal custody of the child. If the biological father fights this and goes for custody himself he will most always prevail unless the third party (the step father) can prove the biological father is unfit. In other words, the best interests factors in regards to custody of the child are normally presumed to fall in favor of the biological parent. The burden is on the third party to prove unfitness. My problem is that I voluntarily (under duress) signed over custody, assuming it was a temporary arrangement. I want to modify custody and bring my children home to me. I am worried that I no longer am entitled to the legal advantages afforded to biological parents involved in custody disputes against a third party. Normally it is assumed that the best interests of the children are served by living with the biological parent, simply because this person is the biological parent and has a liberty interest in raising his/her child and deciding what the best interests of his/her child are.

I just wanted to make sure my original description regarding my situation was clear.

Again - any feedback, case history, etc. would be appreciated!

[thirdpartycustody]

reply

It is not a law that biological parents get their children, When you go to court their are a lot of factors being considered in giving your children back to you. The first one they consider is the stability of the children and how long have they been in a stable enviroment. The thrid party does not have to prove you as an unfit parent they just have to out weigh you in the 12 steps to the best interest of the child(ren). You could loss the custody battle because you did sign over the children, you must now come back and prove your case harder than ever that you have really changed and can now take on the responsiblity of raising your children.