My friend told his wife tonight he wanted a divorce and that he was moving out (she has verbally abused him for years). They have 3 young children and he worked full time but took care of the kids at night and on weekends b/c she is lazy.
When he told her he was moving out she got pist and said over her dead body could he see the kids again. What can he do? Call the police? Get some sort of emergency custody and if so how does he do that. He is so upset over this. She can’t keep his kids from him just b/c he doesn’t want to be with her.
Best to post this in the attorney response forum, but your friend can file an action for child custody. Forms should be available at the local courthouse. I would also refer your friend to this website and tell him to read everything he can lay hands on on this site that has to do with child custody and child support. Tell him to be very active in his children’s lives and maintain contact with their teachers, doctors, and day care personnel. He may need to call on them during a custody hearing to testify about his relationship and care of the children.
Get everything he hopes to keep with him out of the house right away. It’s much easier to give stuff back than to try to get it back once left. Separate all financial accounts into accounts that she doesn’t have access to.
FWIW, tell your friend to document, document, document. Try to avoid face to face conversations, and try to get any conversations in writing (email/mail). Forward phone texts to an email address. If he does have to talk to her in person or on the phone, then keep a log of what time/date the conversation took place, and a synopsis of what was said…if he can record conversations, so much the better.
Good luck.