A Custody Lawyer in Douglasville GA may represent a client with an intellectual disability if his or her right to child custody is being challenged. Men and women with these disabilities are at a significant disadvantage in these cases and they need skilled legal counsel if they hope to retain custody. The problem was dramatized in the 2001 movie I Am Sam with Sean Penn as the disabled father of a young daughter.
Third-Party Concerns
Often, these cases are not brought forth by divorced spouses but by third parties who feel concerned about the situation for some reason. This may lead to an investigation by the county’s family and child welfare agency in social services. If children are removed from the home by the agency, even temporarily, it can become very difficult for the mentally handicapped parent or parents to have them returned home.
The Other Parent
Sometimes the case does come up because the other parent petitions the court for a change in custody, using the custodial parent’s disability as grounds. The two may never have married but may have had a one-night stand or a brief fling. The other parent might claim ignorance of the person’s mentally challenged condition since they did not know each other very well. A child Custody Lawyer in Douglasville GA can represent the parent who has been caring for the youngster full-time and provide aggressive defense against this motion.
Enlisting Additional Help
Some men and women believe that a verified intellectual disability automatically makes a person unfit to be a parent unless there is some additional help. An attorney with an organization like The Law Offices of Diane M. Sternlieb can present the child’s other relationships with adults who provide guidance, such as grandparents, or aunts and uncles. Having to use this strategy may be distasteful to the parent, but it can help if there is a risk of losing custody of the child. Having other family members help with raising this youngster may turn out to be a win-win situation for both the parent and the child. Anyone who needs legal representation may Find more information online.
