questions & answers

Question: My ex husband wont let my 13 year old son live with me and my son is threatening to run away from him and he was drawing pictures of himself dead. I am afraid of what he will do if he has to be there. He lives in kingman az and I live in texas. I need to know how I can get custody back from here. I tried to hire a lawyer and she was going to charge me 4000$. I cant afford that. Since he is 13, how would I get him to the court to tell the judge he does not want to be there he wants to be here with me. Please help me asap. Thanks

Answer: Either parent may request in writing that the court modify a custody order. To change an existing order it must be shown that the best interests of the child are served. The request is filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court and a fee for filing is charged; however, there are limitations on requesting a modification. For example, a request may not be filed for one year from the date of the earlier order, unless there are special circumstances seriously endangering the child's physical, mental, emotional or moral health. If a form of joint custody has been ordered, a modification may be requested at any time if there is evidence that domestic violence, spousal abuse or child abuse has occurred since the date the last order was granted. In a joint custody situation, a parent must wait six months before seeking a modification if the reason for the request is that one parent has failed to obey the court's custody order.