Default custody question

[msme]

Got a question for a friend. He has a daughter who has severe mental health problems. She has been institutionalized for several years. She had her first major breakdown about 15 years ago. She had 2 kids by 2 different husbands before that. Because of her problems, my friend got custody of the older child, the father did not want him. He was in the process of applying for custody of the younger one who was about 3 at the time because the father was abusive.

One day the father showed up & took the little one & left. He let them visit for a few months, then disappeared. My friend has searched for him for the past 11 years. Every time he finds him, the guy takes off & goes back into hiding with the boy. He found one of the guy's girlfriends & she told him that the boy is abused, some physical & a lot of emotional abuse. He has been told that his grandfather is dead & his mother & brother do not want anything to do with him.

This time, he got a PI to find him & hired a lawyer to file in court on behalf of the mother (my friend is her guardian) for visitation & counseling. When the father was served, he had to go to the courthouse to acknowledge the issue & a court date was set. He did that, acknowledged that he has hidden the boy all these years, & then he took off again.The court date is this coming Tuesday. His lawyer says if he doesn't show up, he will win by default.

I suggested that they ammend the petition to ask for sole custody because the father has repeatedly shown that the father has no intention of fostering a relationship with the boy's mother, brother & grandfather. I think he should request supervised visitation for the father to show his willingness to keep the father involved, in spite of what he has done. Do you think this could be done. The court is in OK. My friend lives in KY. Also he has been a wonderful parent to the older boy, fostering a relationship with his father & doing a great job raising him. He is in college now.

[Kitty C.]

I would say he probably has a good chance at that, msme..........the father's already proven to the court that he is unwilling to abide by the court and foster the relationship.  BTW, did the PI find any evidence of the abuse that could be used in court?  That might help solidify the case.  And is the g-father appearing in the OK court today? 

[msme]

No, the PI only located & served him. Tom wasn't able to go to court. He is trying to save the money to keep paying the lawyer.