I am in Angelina County, Texas. I currently have joint custody with me being the primary parent. My 7 year old daughter is not liking her visits with her Dad. He lives about 100 miles away with his girlfriend and her two small children (4 and 2). He claims that she misbehaves down there and that myself and his mother %26quot;baby%26quot; her too much (his mother and I are close and she is very involved with raising her). He says that she needs to grow a backbone and toughen up, etc She has ADHD and he refuses to understand how this effects her or to learn methods of parenting her that would work better than screaming at her all day. I got off the phone with her a while ago and she was just in tears begging for me to come and get her and all the while he was in the background screaming at her to quit whining. I reassured her that she would be home in 5 days but she says it is too long, she just can't take it, can I please get her early, etc I told her I loved her and that it would all be okay. I feel so bad for her. He is bipolar and is verbally and emotionally abusive. He also has a criminal history (2 felonies). My daughter receives counselling and has said that her Dad yells a lot and spanks her. Can I get sole custody and reduce his visitation to no extended visits with her (like, a one week max at a time) as the extended visits seem to be worse for her, not so much the shorter visits. Can she speak in court, also?Change to sole custody of 7 yr old and restrict length of visitations?A father has rights too. If you have issues with the terms of visitation, you will need to have your case presented in court and let a judge decide what is in the best interests of all. Nothing that you've said in your description seems to be enough for a judge to change the visitation, but that would be my interpretation based on my experience. Being a bad parent does not affect one's ability to see their kids.Change to sole custody of 7 yr old and restrict length of visitations?This is a matter for the courts to decide. You will have to talk to your lawyer. It won't be pretty. But you will have to go through the courts.Change to sole custody of 7 yr old and restrict length of visitations?This is solely for the courts to decide.Change to sole custody of 7 yr old and restrict length of visitations?If he isn't treating his bipolar disorder, he can be ordered to do so to see his child. You can ask for a psychiatric evaluation (but expect to be given one yourself) which will help the judge to decide how to proceed.
Your child can be appointed a Guardian ad Litum, who can investigate her situation and speak for her interests with the judge. It's in her interest to have an intact relationship with her dad, but he needs to be in control of himself when she's there. Shorter visits sound like a good idea, but facilitate the relationship for HER.
You chose this man, mental illness, felony history and all to be the father of your child. Try to make it work for her sake.
