The Question:
Can my spouse (who I am divorcing) try to restrict my child’s access to extended family through the courts? My husband is trying to restrict my daughter from ever being around her Uncle (my brother). He has no criminal convictions and is not a registered sex offender, but did struggle with substance abuse at different points in his life. I would never put her with him unsupervised but now he is threatening to try and get a court order that says my daughter can never be present if my brother is there.
RJ Says:
Yes, this is a common request in Family Court, and is within the Court’s discretion. You have the equal right however to defend the request as unreasonable and unnecessary, especially if you also are agreeing that the child would never be left unsupervised in the uncle’s presence.