Divorce, separation and child custody are issues that we deal with at Crespo Law quite frequently.
That is why in this post we analyze a recent judgment that has caught our attention because it is a common case: Can a parent lose custody of his or her child because the child spends most of the time with his or her grandparents during the period of stay with that parent?
The ruling, dated February 7, 2019, ensures that the parental functions that correspond to the father are mandatory, not being able to be exempted by considering that the minor is well cared for by the grandparents. Therefore, sole custody is granted to the mother of a minor, having alleged that her ex-husband left the paternal grandparents in the care of their child.
This criterion was already upheld by the first instance judgment, which upheld the claim for modification of measures filed by the mother and agreed to grant her custody of the child.
Substantial change in circumstances
In its argumentation, the Chamber considers that there has been a substantial alteration of the circumstances taken into account at the time of establishing the custody regime, given that, after a judgment was handed down in the previous custody and child support proceedings -in which a system of shared custody of the child with both parents was established- it was demonstrated that there was a substantial alteration of the circumstances taken into account at the time of establishing the custody regime.
ofshared cohabitation of the child with both parents, it was demonstrated that the child’s The father’s neglect of his child’s care, with the paternal grandparents performing this function. Specifically, the ruling states the following:
“(…) “it is one thing that in specific cases he may be obliged to ask for help from the grandparents of the minor for his care, but not that they are the ones who take care and are directly in charge of his grandchild, since the functions that correspond to the father are of obligatory compliance without being able to exonerate himself from his obligations because he considers that the minor is well cared for by the grandparents, which is not in doubt, but it is he who as father must comply with his obligations and in the present case he does not do so; This circumstance is also corroborated by the witness evidence and the report issued by the psychosocial team (…)…)”.
It is appreciated, therefore, a modification of measures, “without being able to take into account what is currently alleged by the defendant in the sense that now as he is unemployed he has more time to take care of his son”. Related articles:
- 5 cases in which you may lose custody of your children
- Poor parental influence as a determining factor in losing custody
