Southern California Family Law Attorney Blog

When a child custody case is brought before a judge in California, the judge will use all the information he has gathered to make the final decision for where the best place is for the children to be raised. In a divorce, both parents are forced to abide by the ruling of the judge in terms of custody and visitation for either parent. There are unique situations where a custody case involves one parent and another guardian who is not a biological parent of the children.

The sister of a convicted killer is forced to make the choice between handing his children back over to their biological father or fighting a judge’s recent decision to return custody to the man, who was recently released from prison. Although the children don’t know their father well, the judge may have felt the bond between biological parent and child was most important in this case.

The man left his children as babies to serve a ten-year sentence for murdering two people, but some family members claim he is trying to get his life back. The sister was granted custody after the man went to jail, although family members dispute her claims that she has been their full time guardian since that time.

In a custody case, the judge and attorneys involved often do what they feel is best for the children, and plead on behalf of their clients. Any person who is facing a custody battle and sincerely believes they are the best guardians for the children may benefit from consulting an attorney to determine the best path to take to obtain sole custody.

Source: FOX, "Killer wins custody of children after 10 years in prison; guardian fights decision," Justin Joseph, May 7, 2013