Legal aid question? Are legal aid attorneys any good for custody battles?

[benon]

Has anyone ever used a legal aid attorney for a custody battle? If so, how did it go and how hard did they fight for you? My ex is taking me back to court fot primary custody of our son even though
he is still thousands of dollars back behind in child
support. Im still btoke from paying off my first attorney from our first custody battle and it looks like im going to have to use legal aid so I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this?

[emilek17]

I called legal aid for my court date for an eviction they never showed and never called me back. But I live in Youngstown soo that's probably why lol

[juanito]

why would anyone think that any two lawyers have the same abilities? Legal aid or some sole practitioner or a huge firm, half of them graduated in the lower half of their class.

[mate]

Does not matter, they would not take the case as it would take too much time and expense. Legal Aid is not a government program, it is a non-profit association in which attorneys make donations so that newly enrolled attorneys can handle low income cases. The problem though is that starting five years ago, donations have dropped 60%. These days they are little more than a phone service.

As for child support and custody, they are separate issues, and arrears does not mean refusal to pay. You could have nailed him with retroactive child support when he did not know he had a child, or had been paying you, but without a court order, so it was classified as a gift. He also could have been unemployed, and did not know that the state provides free help to lower the support order.

What is important is what is in the child's best interest. If it is better for the child to be in the custody of the father, or for him to have Joint Physical Custody, that is more important than the child support. Also, fathers with sole custody can still be ordered to pay child support.