If I have primary residential custody of my grandson and his father has been long absent and may be drug impaired, do I have to allow him to a visit?
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If I have primary residential custody of my grandson and his father has been long absent and may be drug impaired, do I have to allow him to a visit?
His mom has secondary custody. She cannot spend unsupervised time with him (by court order). His dad has been absent for well over a year. He was homeless, in a psych unit for suicidal ideation, and overdosed on heroin. Suddenly dad is calling us saying he wants to see his son. He has no legal custody rights per court order. I’m afraid he’s still impaired. My grandson is only 6 and says he doesn’t want to see him.
Asked on July 1, 2015 under Family Law, New Jersey
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
It all depends on how your custody papers read. If you have custody and visitation is at your discretion OR if dad is prohibited from any contact, then you don't have to give him a visit. If the orders say that he gets supervised visits at a particular time, then you are bound by the court order to allow the visit at that particular time. However, if you believe that even a supervised visit would be harmful to your grandson, then you need to get with a family law attorney to seek a modification of the paperwork so that he doesn't have to see him.
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