Child Custody

questions & answers

Question: I am a father of a 5 year old and my ex is using meth, she's denying it now, but the signs are there and my ex mother inlaw has asked me to get full custody. How can I get emergency custody of my child?

Answer:

Your answer doesn't indicate whether you are already involved in litigation for other reasons, or whether you would have to initiate a fresh petition - and my answer might differ depending on that situation. (If you file a new petition, you will have to add more paperwork, pay a filing fee, and accomplish formal service of process on your ex-wife.) At any rate, the procedure for seeking emergency custody of a child can be found at Family Law Rule 48. 

You should remember that courts only grudgingly hand out emergency orders because they rarely involve fair, advance notice to the other parent. So you will have to present a fairly compelling argument that *irreparable* injury will result to the child without immediate intervention, *and* that you have good reason not to give advance warning to your ex-wife that you intend to seek judicial relief. That's a pretty high standard, but you are legally entitled to try.

The alternative is to file a standard, Rule 47 motion for temporary orders (with or without a standard custody petition, depending on the status of your underlying case), and wait for both a response from your ex-wife and a formal hearing.