What to do if my wife and I are seperated and I want to go ahead and file for a divorce I’m just afraid of them giving custody of our 2 children to her?
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What to do if my wife and I are seperated and I want to go ahead and file for a divorce I’m just afraid of them giving custody of our 2 children to her?
We have been separated for 3 years. Do you think they would favor her even though they have lived with me since we seperated and she has had 2 other children while we were seperated?
Asked on September 3, 2012 under Family Law, West Virginia
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
The courts no longer award custody just because of the gender of one parent over another. The standard is the best interest of the child. If you've been providing for these children for three years, it would probably do more harm to yank them from your custody. If she has failed to provide any support, then that improves your position even further. So... if you file for divorce, you have a very good chance of retaining custody based on the facts as you describe them. To get a more definite answer, you may want to visit with an attorney in your jurisdiction that is familiar with your local judges. Even though local judges are supposed to follow standards, each will have their own tendancies which you would also want to know about before you file for divorce.
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