Custody hearings

[luckystar]

I was wondering what to expect in a custody hearing. We just went in front of a hearing officer and got her judgement. My X has appealed the decision and that puts us in front of a judge. I have not spoken to my attorney because I just received the paperwork today in the mail.

Does the hearing officer's decision sway the judge in any way?

[mistoffolees]

>I was wondering what to expect in a custody hearing. We just
>went in front of a hearing officer and got her judgement. My X
>has appealed the decision and that puts us in front of a
>judge. I have not spoken to my attorney because I just
>received the paperwork today in the mail.
>
>Does the hearing officer's decision sway the judge in any way?
>

I'm not sure I understand your situation - presumably because the system is different in your state than I am familiar with. In my state, you can't get a judgement without appearing in front of the judge at least once.

In any event, 'custody hearing' could mean almost anything. It could be as simple as the judge rubber stamping the hearing officer's recommendation or as complex as a full-blown multi-day trial. Ask your attorney what it means in your case.

In any event, I can't imagine how the hearing officer's decision would fail to have some impact on the judge. Exactly how much depends on the individuals involved. In my state, when a custody evaluation is done (by an evaluator, not a 'hearing officer'), the judge almost always goes along with what they recommend. Your situation may be different.

[luckystar]

Thank you for responding. As you can imagine I am in so much pain right now that I'm not sure what to do. This is long, but I feel my heart is being ripped out and I just need to talk.

I'm in PA and custody is first handled by hearing officers. We went in front of a hearing officer and our attorneys presented our case. We each then had a chance to speak. The hearing officer took notes and asked questions. She then had so many days to write up her recommendation. Her recommendation was sent to our attorneys and we had so many days to appeal. My x appealed. If he would of agreed it (the paper) would of went in front of a judge and he/she would of signed off and it would of become final. Because he appealed we now have to appear before a judge for a custody hearing. We have never had to do this before because he always let the hearing officer's decision stand. So I guess we are in for a custody fight. I received the paper work Friday after hours, so I have to wait until hopefully Monday perhaps Wednesday to talk to my attorney.

My ex went for full physical custody because I am a working mom and he is a stay at home/work out of the house dad. I should note that I am a school teacher and a perfect mom (if there can be. I mean I don't have men in and out and no drugs/alcohol.) So basicly it was all about the job. In front of the hearing officer I fought shared 50/50 custody due to school. I see how children are torn and the effect on education. So here's the hearing officer's decision:

Mom has primary custody. Dad gets every other weekend Fri 6pm- to Monday 4pm. Every Tues 8am-Wed 6Pm. Every other Fri 8am-4pm. Summers are equally shared. 2days with mom then 2 w Dad. 5 with mom 5w dad. 2 weeks vacation.

It seemed like a fair decision. He wants 50/50. The child will be going to school next year and he doesn't want her going to the school where I teach which happens to be our neighborhood school. Another reason for the fight. He also wanted to make things work and I refused. He cheated on me 2 times during the marriage and would not work things out. I waited over two years. Then this past summer I met someone and suddenly x waited to get back together. When I said no, he took me to court for custody.  So if I appear bitter I am because I know that no of this is for the right reasons.

I am so afraid of losing my child. Thank you for listening.

[mistoffolees]

Again, I'm not familiar with PA's laws and I'm not an attorney, anyway, so take this with a huge grain of salt. However, I have to believe that the hearing officer's decision will carry weight with the judge in most cases (of course, if your individual judge hates that individual hearing officer, it might be different, but let's ignore that possibility). If the judge were going to routinely ignore the hearing officer, why go to the trouble of having the hearing officer?

Frankly, unless there's something you're leaving out, I can't imagine that you'd have to worry about losing your child. If the father's only asking for 50:50, I can't see the judge taking the child away from you.

It's hard to do, but his cheating on you is really irrelevant to the custody issue (unless he did it in front of the kids) so you will have to put it aside. Work shouldn't really matter all that much, either. If he's working at home, he should be working - so the child won't see him all that much more than if you're a teacher. You need to focus on the child. What is best for them?

For what it's worth, you're setting up a very complicated schedule for a child to follow and be comfortable with. If you're in the same school district, the child might do better with an alternating week schedule (assuming the father can take the child to school in your district). My child has adapted to that very well. I would think that it would be hard for him to justify putting the child in a different school district than the one you work in. So it seems to me that your worst case scenario is every other week and the child in your school. If the child is close to his father, that might not be a bad solution.

If the father is not close enough to take the child you your school, 50:50 probably won't work - and since you're got the temporary custody and the hearing officer on your side (and since you're asking for sole custody and the father is not), you're in a strong position. No rational judge is going to have the child spending alternating weeks in different schools.