Custody & Kidnapping

It can be hard to limit the time that a child can spend with the other parent’s loved one (or another specific person) while in the other parent’s care. Judges may be hesitant to get involved in what each parent does during their time with the children. This includes things like what activities the parent does with the child, what food the child eats, or which of the parent’s friends or family are allowed to be around the child. That being said, if there is evidence that a specific person would be harmful to the child, perhaps this is something the judge would address. For example, if an uncle is a registered sex offender for committing sexual crimes against children, perhaps the judge may be willing to say that the child cannot be left alone with the uncle.

If there is already harm being caused by the child’s relationship with a particular person, this might be something the child can testify to. Or if the child is in therapy, perhaps the therapist might testify as to harm that the child is suffering from their relationship with this person.

If a judge will not address this issue, then sometimes the parents themselves come to an agreement about these sorts of issues. Some parents may want to agree upon rules, for example, about when a parent can introduce the child to a significant other. Or when a child cannot be left alone with a certain relative who causes concern for a parent. 

I cannot speak to the specifics of your situation so you may want to talk to a lawyer who specializes in custody to explain your circumstances and to ask whether or not this may be something that a judge would get involved in. A lawyer can hopefully also tell you whether or not a request that the judge get involved in the other parent’s choices of who sees the children may be looked upon negatively by a judge and possibly even backfire in some way. Here is a link to lawyers so you can get some specific advice. [HYPERLINK]

[ADD IF RELEVANT: Also, here is the information that we have on restraining orders in STATE in case you are considering whether or not any of this person’s actions against your children may qualify them for an order against this person: LINK Again, I cannot give any type of opinion on this since we cannot provide legal advice but hopefully an attorney can give you advice.]