Mom Loses Custody for Alienating Dad

In a stunning and unusual family law decision, a Toronto judge has stripped a mother of custody of her three children after the woman spent more than a decade trying to alienate them from their father.

The mother's "consistent and overwhelming" campaign to brainwash the children into thinking their father was a bad person was nothing short of emotional abuse, Justice Faye McWatt of the Superior Court of Justice wrote in her decision.

The three girls, ages 9 to 14, were brought to a downtown courthouse last Friday and turned over to their father, a vascular surgeon identified only as A.L.

Read more at the Toronto Star.

FLDS Case Drops From 426 to 13 Children

Only 13 children remain under court jurisdiction in the ongoing custody case involving children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch in Texas.

Texas Child Protective Services has officially "nonsuited" 426 children, leaving only 13 left in what was once the nation's largest child custody case. Agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins confirmed to the Deseret News on Tuesday the four remaining legal cases involve children from three mothers.

Read the rest of the story at Deseret News.

Same-Sex Custody Battle Frustrating to Non-Biological Mother

Lisa Lewis wants to see the child she considers her daughter.

It’s been more than a year since she saw or spoke to the girl, who is now 7, and a custody battle between Ms. Lewis and the girl’s biological mother has been going on for almost two years.

Ms. Lewis, 41, and Jeannette Rowan, both of Sharon, lived together as a couple for 11 years before splitting up when the child they’d raised together was 5 years old, Ms. Lewis said.

The couple wasn’t married, but courts have found Ms. Lewis has standing to seek custody of the child.

Read more info at The Herald.

"Gossip Girl" Star Involved in Messy Custody Battle

"Gossip Girl" star Kelly Rutherford, who filed divorce papers last month, fears her estranged husband will vanish with their son.

The star is seeking to bar David Giersch from leaving America with their 2-year-old son, Hermes.

Meanwhile, Giersch has filed papers in Los Angeles alleging the actress, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, once threw a laptop computer at him in a rage.

Both parties are seeking sole physical custody of their son with monitored visitation.

Filing emergency papers at the end of last week, the actress asked court officials to bar Giersch from traveling outside the United States with their son.

In a declaration, she said, "I feel there is some risk that he will leave the country with Hermes and I will not know where they are."

Read more at SFGate.com

Custody Dispute Turns Violent, Deadly

Dublin police say a 91-year-old homicide victim, whose body was dumped into her own trash can, was choked, hit over the head and Tasered before she died.

But which injury caused the death of Selma "Sally" Hill has not yet been determined by the coroner, said Dublin police Lt. Glenn Moon.

Hill may have been the bystander in a bizarre custody dispute over her 2-year-old great granddaughter, police say.

Read the rest of the story at The Mercury News.

Minnesota Considering Change to Custody Laws

Fathers in Minnesota may soon see changes to the method used to determine child custody in cases of divorce.

Currently, when parents split up, a judge who is making custody decisions begins with a clean slate about living arrangements and takes a number of factors including parenting skills and parents' wishes into account, Minnesota Public Radio reports.

A new legislative proposal seeks to change that so that the judge would presume joint physical custody from the outset.

Read more about the proposed changes at GreatDad.com.

Deployed Soldiers Fighting Child Custody Battles

Army Sgt. Stephanie Greer was serving with a vehicle-maintenance unit in the volatile Iraqi city of Ramadi, part of President Bush’s “surge” strategy to stabilize the country, when she learned of a far-off and most unexpected battle: Her estranged husband was going to fight her for custody of their daughter.

Greer had temporary custody of Mackenzie when she began her second deployment to Iraq in early 2007. Her husband was to care for the 7-year-old while Greer was overseas, but soon he challenged that arrangement in divorce proceedings. “He said I was unstable because I was deployed or training too much,” she said.

As a result, throughout her 15-month combat tour, Greer had to mount from 4,000 miles away a legal campaign to keep her daughter.

Read the rest of this story at The Fayetteville Observer.