Many Illinois parents understand what it is like to go through a court battle regarding custody of their children. A man in another state had been engaged in a child custody fight with the mother of his three children. He was eventually granted custody by the court, but a tragedy soon afterward changed his life forever.
The man had reportedly been in a serious relationship with a woman he had met in 2006. They dated for many years (although they never married) and had three children together. At some point, the romantic relationship ended, and the two went to court to fight for custody of their children. However, after a court had granted custody to the father, the mother took the children to a different state.
While there, she was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident that took the lives of their two sons. Their daughter survived and has since gone to live with her father. The mother has been charged with intoxicated manslaughter.
The grief-stricken father says he is fighting for new child custody laws that would prevent a non-custodial parent from taking children to another state while proceedings remain ongoing. He believes if there had been a law like this in place, his children would not have died. Fortunately, parents in Illinois will rarely face such horrific tragedies, though these types of family law proceedings are often challenging and emotional. Some parents may currently be overwhelmed by any number of complex child custody issues. Anyone with questions concerning a particular issue can meet with an experienced attorney for guidance.
Source: news4jax.com, “Father of 2 boys killed in DUI crash pushes for new custody laws“, Jenese Harris, Dec. 14, 2016
