MY GREATEST BLESSINGS CALL ME NANA

Discovery

Crystal received papers from the courts that Janice had petitioned the courts to reinstate custody of her children.  She would receive notice once the court date had been set. Her heart was pounding as she picked up the phone to call her lawyer.  Can she do that?  What are her chances?  Calm down Crystal.  Do not tell me to calm down these are my kids.  What am I going to do?  He told her it was unlikely Janice would get custody of the kids, but the courts might grant Janice visitation.  I do not trust her with the kids.  I have no clue what type of person she is, where she has been, or what she has been up to all these years.  I am not handing my babies over to her.  What are my options?

Well I have a friend that is a private investigator.  Maybe we can figure out what Janice has been up to for the last eight years.  Have him look back nine years.  The kids had been held back a school year the year they came to live with me.  They said it was because they had moved around a lot.  Alright.  I will have him look back at the least nine years. I will call you as soon as I hear something.

Crystal was a wreck all week.  She could not sleep or eat.  Jacob had reported seeing Janice parked by the school looking at him.  She had not gotten close enough to break the restraining order. It made Crystal nervous.  She was trying to be patient, but she had not heard back from her lawyer yet.  The court date was getting closer.

Crystal was in the kitchen doing the dishes when she heard the phone ringing.  She ran to see who it was.  Her lawyer.  Hello, hello it is me.  Good morning Crystal.  The private investigator we hired has gotten his report back to me.  Do you think you could come down to the office to review it with me?  Yes.  I can be there in an hour.  That will work. I will see you then.

As Crystal drove to the lawyer’s office, she could not help but wonder what was in the report.  The part of her that loved Janice wanted it to be all good things, but she knew there would be something bad in it.  After all she had abandoned her kids.

Crystal pulled up to the lawyer’s office.  She sat in the car gripping the steering will trying to get her courage up to go in.  She took a deep breath, slammed her hands on the steering will and said I can do this.  She walked across the parking lot and straight into the lawyer’s office.  She was going to get through this.  She was not going to lose her babies.

Hello Crystal, have a seat.  I have not reviewed the file yet so we will be seeing it at the same time.  Looks like Janice lived at four different address in 2012. At each address, during the same period a known felon was living with her.  He had several d**g arrests on his record. Interviews with people that knew them confirmed they were a couple.  There were also domestic disturbance calls placed several times while the children were in her custody.  The complaints did not involve the kids and it appears they were dropped each time. School counselors had contacted her a few times to have her come in to discuss the children’s development.  She did not show for the appointments. She has been charged a few times for possession.  She did a month in rehab.  Looks like it was a condition of probation She has moved around quite a bit and appears to still be with the same guy.  He did a three-year stint in prison for trafficking drugs. It does not appear that she has been able to maintain a stable job or home in the past nine years.   We were unable to determine any steady employment or income for either of them.She is living not too far from you.  The boyfriend is not listed on the address but has been seen going and coming.    We did find that she applied for food stamps and financial assistance utilizing the kids as dependents.  It is my opinion that she plans on using the kids for financial purposes. 

Crystal sat there taking in everything she had just heard.  Do you think she stands a chance at getting visitation?  I do not think so.  I will argue that she has not had contact with them for years therefore has no relationship or bond with them.  I will also show that she lied to get financial assistance.   I would insist that she be d**g tested due to her record and that any visitation granted by supervised.

Alright.  I feel a little better.  What about what the kids may want? Since the kids are over the age of twelve the judge will meet with them. Their wishes are not the only deciding factor but a judge will take them in to consideration. A judge is required to consider the entirety of the circumstances.  We will get through this Crystal.  Call me if anything else happens. I will see you at court.  Crystal thanked him and headed home.  She would be lying if she said she was not worried, but she did feel better.