Every day, any court in the country will hear two sides of a custody case, and a determination of where the child will be placed is made. The details of some Pennsylvania child custody cases can make the decision fairly easy, but others, not so much. A recent child custody case pits two biological parents against each other.
A man and his wife made plans to have a child via surrogacy and found a woman not only willing to carry the child but to donate her eggs to be used for conception, as well. The two parties signed a contract, agreeing that the donor would have nothing to do with the child once delivered. However, before the couple could legally adopt the child, they divorced. As a result, the man used the surrogate as a babysitter for nearly three years before he relieved her of the duty. The relationship between the child and the surrogate was such that the girl thought of the woman as her mother.
The father terminated the relationship between the child and the surrogate because he had remarried. The new wife had some problems, however, including one with alcohol. She had accumulated a number of DUIs and had her driver’s license revoked but continued to drive with the child in the car and with the blessing of the father. In addition, the child was placed in a temporary facility numerous times when her father and stepmother were not prepared to take adequate care of her.
Upon hearing this information, the surrogate filed a custody complaint and was named the child’s temporary guardian. This caused the father to file his own lawsuit, claiming the surrogate had violated the original agreement. In addition to custody, he is seeking thousands in financial compensation.
There is a lot of emotion between the parties involved in a child custody fight. It can be hard to think calmly and rationally when trying to make important decisions. A Pennsylvania attorney can be the logical, focused third party a parent will need before a court appearance.
