firearms collection and child custody cases

L

lwfiredog

New member
Hi everyone, Currently my ex is dragging me into court :mad: and she is trying to get custody of our 8 year old daughter and Im wondering what she might try to bring up in court about me having firearms in the house. Everything is legal and documented as well as in a safe and locked away and as far as parenting goes, Iam way more involved then she and everyone, including her own bother :p says that Im whats in my daughters best intrest and have every intention of speaking up about that. Have any of you had any dealings with child custody and firearms in the household? Any insite would be wonderful.

thanks,
Mike
 
I am sorry to hear about your situation although I have not personally been through this I have several family and friends who have. I have only seen gun collections come up once and it was not a safety issue, but a financial one.

It never surprises me how nasty these proceedings can get and the false allegations one party will make against the other. It seems a lot comes down to who has the best attorney and makes the best case in the actual court proceedings. The Courts just simply do not have the resources to chase down every allegation that is made, so the judge has to make a decision based on the facts before him/her at that moment. Also, a little bit of more good news all things being equal most Family Courts will favor the Mother.

However, I would be proactive and discuss this with your attorney and get their advice. Document the firearms that you own and how they are stored. Take photographs showing safe storage of the items in questions. Document any formal training you may have and your total years of experience as a gun owner. Consider having others write letters detailing these issues and their personal experience shooting or hunting with you and your responsible gun use.

Again, get a good attorney and discuss everything that may come up ahead of time. Be as detailed and as proactive as possible. Good luck.
 
My wife and I are in the process of adopting and the question (note I did NOT say "issue") of firearms came up. I had to show the social worker that I keep the firearms locked up, and that was that.
 
I hate to say this because I dont believe fire arms should ever be a issue concerning child custody so long as everything is as you have already said put away safely.

If it was me Id have a trusted friend or family member hold on to my firearms until this whole thing is over and theirby hopefully take them out of the court debate completely except as property of a given dollar value.

It shouldnt have to be this way but without having some idea of the judges pervious decisions in similar cases who knows, also if your not in physical possession of the firearms and she falsely accuses you of threathening her with them or something you have a ready made witness for your side.

My ex tried every dirty nasty legal trick in the book, lies upon lies.... In the end I was able to prove the lies for what they were but it was close....

Good luck!
 
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Thanks guys, I decided to buy another safe, and I moved all my firearms and ammumition out of my place and into my parents basement, everything has a trigger lock and those that are a bolt action, have the bolts removed. Its all locked up and my daughter has no idea that anything has been relocated. This isnt a divorice case as we were never married, just living together, so money shouldnt be an issue, just the support she's seeking but doesnt deserve. After all, I take care of my parental responcibilities, have since day 1, I dont have a responcibility to support her too.
 
In most states, a charge/conviction of domestic violence and/or a protection order(lies or not) can be grounds to take your firearms away. Especially if other person states they fear for their life 'cause of your guns.

If you recall the ATF Form 4473 where you bought firearms has a question about domestic violence.

Just stay away from any possible reason for this...
 
Always, Always meet in a very public place when doing anything with this lady. Make it a hard ground habit with no exceptions, period. I always went so far as to make sure that I was clearly on the opposite side of as large a table as possible so there couldnt be any reasonable accusations of physical contact or threats.

I also tried to always have someone else with me. I litterally took notes written in a specific notebook on my wearabouts and who I was with and what I was doing. I didnt have a digital camera way back then but might I also suggest you take pictures every time you get the kids from her and every time before you give the kids to her. Put them in shorts or whatever that allows a reasonable view without showing everything, make it a game and make it fun for the kids and never let on that its for being able to defend yourself.

Depending on her personality all this might be over kill but when it comes to my kids I never took chances and thank goodness I didnt. One small mistake and you might never be able to own a firearm not to mention custody of the kids.

It sucks to have to live this way but until the courts over paranoia is your friend.
 
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I know that when I applied for my pistol permit in Niagara County, NY, among the first questions I was asked was whether or not I was (A) divorced or (B) paying some sort of alimony or child support. If either A or B had been true, it may have been sufficient grounds for the judge to deny my permit. Now, as for those who already had a pistol permit and were later divorced, I'm nearly certain the court cannot revoke your permit (or confiscate your handguns) because you're going through a Divorce or a child custody battle. Divorce is not a crime, therefore it does not provide grounds to revoke a right or privilege. However, in NY, any issue which MAY bring into question *anything* about your moral character during the permit application process is reason enough for a judge (especially an anti-gun judge) to deny a pistol permit application, you're then forced to hire an attorney to resolve the situation after that point.

An arrest is grounds to revoke a pistol permit in NY, as well as most other States, especially any that are MAY-issue. In fact, I work with a guy who was mistakenly arrested for a crime he couldn't have possibly committed (he had never been arrested in his life, and he was out-of-town in Florida during the time of this crime, someone from his neighborhood randomly reported his car as being at the scene of a vandalism), his pistol permit was immediately revoked upon being arrested, and he had to surrender all his handguns to the local Sheriffs office. After the charges were completely dropped and case dismissed (the same day), it took him over a year to get his permit back along with his guns, which were all legitimately registered on his permit. Just don't get arrested or do anything that would allow your to-be ex to file a restraining order, and you'll be A-ok with your firearms and permit.
 
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