There are almost no instances in which child custody is not a heated issue between divorcing couples. Some couples are fortunate enough and part on amicable enough terms to agree on custody issues, but oftentimes former spouses want to minimize the time a child spends with his or her other parent. It makes sense when you think about the fact that the couples divorced for a reason, and parents do not want their children influenced by the bad behaviors that caused the divorce in the first place.
However, no matter how unfair your child custody agreement may seem to you, it is imperative that you do not take matters into your own hands and violate the agreement. There are legal avenues available to modify custody agreements and help you receive a custody agreement that is fair to you, but if you violate the agreement, you are only inviting disaster.
More than two decades ago in Texas, a baby who was barely a year old was taken by his father. Reports indicate that the baby’s parents divorced, with the baby’s mother citing anger issues on the part of the father. The father was allowed to see his son only twice a month and even then under supervision. Allegedly, he picked his son up one day and simply never returned.
The FBI has been on the case ever since, and the man was recently arrested in Orleans County, New York. Currently it is unknown exactly what kind of legal penalties he could face, but you do not have to be a legal expert to know that evading the FBI for more than a decade is going to come with consequences.
Not all custody agreements are fair, but courts can only do what they believe is in the best interests of the child based on the information they are given. It is up to you to prove why you deserve to be in your child’s life, and an attorney can help you do that. Additionally, if you are dealing with an unfair custody arrangement, an attorney can help you modify the arrangement to be more fair to you and your circumstances.
Source: WKBW, “Man accused of abducting son in ’92 found in WNY,” June 15, 2015