Authority over your child: Ask a lawyer

Questioner

I would like to have full authority over my son. This is now shared with the father. We are no longer together. How do I arrange and apply for this?

Lawyer

Based on what you write, I assume that there is joint authority, which you want to convert to sole authority. You will need to hire a lawyer for this, who will have to submit a request to the juvenile court. Such a request must be very well-founded, because it does not happen that quickly that joint authority is terminated. The chance of success of submitting such a request therefore depends very much on your situation. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Questioner

And if the father himself agrees to this? Will a judge also agree to it?

Lawyer

The father's agreement may make it easier for the judge to determine, but that does depend on his reason for agreeing. Even then, it must be a good story before the judge agrees. But it will be easier if he agrees than if he opposes it.

Questioner

The main thing is that my father and I want to have as little to do with each other as possible. Then there will be less arguing and frustration and that will be better for my son too. Would this be enough?

Lawyer

It is particularly relevant that you can demonstrate that you are experiencing inconvenience from joint custody and that it could pose a risk to your child. A concrete example is when it is completely impossible to discuss important topics because the father does not want to cooperate or is not interested. This makes it difficult for you, as the caring parent, to make decisions and that can be enough to terminate joint authority. With sufficient substantiation, the point you mentioned could be enough to have the authority vested in you.

Questioner

Do you also know approximately what the costs would be. The application was free. In any case, thanks for all the information.

Lawyer

The costs depend on your income. If your income is below a certain amount, you can get a supplement. You then pay an income-dependent personal contribution and court fees for the court (€77,--) If your income is above the threshold for receiving legal aid, you will have to pay a lawyer based on an hourly rate. The costs will be higher in that case. You will then quickly have to count on 10 to 15 hours of work. You can check whether you are eligible for legal aid by searching Google for 'income standards legal aid 2015', where you should look for legal aid in family law.