how would you feel if an unrelated man was given full custody of your daughter?

FACT 1

Chris has never been accused of doing anything wrong

Nobody accused Chris of being a bad father. In fact, all parties in the case openly acknowledge that Chris is a good father.

The court found that Chris is an entirely fit parent who has raised Ann well, but still ruled that Chris had to share custody of Ann with an unrelated man who wanted her.

FACT 2

Chris is a fit parent and a good father

Chris raised Ann with love and attention. Ann lived approximately half the time with him and half the time with her biological mother after they were separated.

Ann’s mom died in a tragic car accident in 2018. Initially, her maternal grandparents sued Chris for partial custody of Ann. However, the court of appeals dismissed the grandparents on the grounds that Chris was a fit parent who had the right to raise his own daughter. Even so, Ann still visits her grandparents regularly.

FACT 3

The fiancé was allowed to share custody of Chris’ daughter even though he is not related to her and barely knows her

While the court of appeals agreed that Chris should be allowed to raise Ann instead of his in-laws, the trial court still decided Chris should share custody with an unrelated man.

Ann’s mom had been living with her boyfriend and was engaged 3 months before her death. Ann had lived with him off and on for no more than 6 months while they dated, since her biological parents shared custody.

When Chris sought to dismiss the maternal grandparents from the lawsuit, the boyfriend-turned-fiancé of Ann’s deceased mother’s also sued for custody. The trial court then granted the unrelated man partial custody of 5-year-old Ann.

Ann was only 3 years old when she last lived with the boyfriend then-fiancé. She has lived with her dad ever since. Now Ann is 5. She barely knows this man.

FACT 1 Chris has never been accused of doing anything wrong

Nobody accused Chris of being a bad father. In fact, all parties in the case openly acknowledge that Chris is a good father.

The court found that Chris is an entirely fit parent who has raised Ann well, but still ruled that Chris had to share custody of Ann with an unrelated man who wanted her.

FACT 2 Chris is a fit parent and a good father

Chris raised Ann with love and attention. Ann lived approximately half the time with him and half the time with her biological mother after they were separated.

Ann’s mom died in a tragic car accident in 2018. Initially, her maternal grandparents sued Chris for partial custody of Ann. However, the court of appeals dismissed the grandparents on the grounds that Chris was a fit parent who had the right to raise his own daughter. Even so, Ann still visits her grandparents regularly.

FACT 3 The fiancé was allowed to share custody of Chris’ daughter even though he is not related to her and barely knows her

While the court of appeals agreed that Chris should be allowed to raise Ann instead of his in-laws, the trial court still decided Chris should share custody with an unrelated man.

Ann’s mom had been living with her boyfriend and was engaged 3 months before her death. Ann had lived with him off and on for no more than 6 months while they dated, since her biological parents shared custody.

When Chris sought to dismiss the maternal grandparents from the lawsuit, the boyfriend-turned-fiancé of Ann’s deceased mother’s also sued for custody. The trial court then granted the unrelated man partial custody of 5-year-old Ann.

Ann was only 3 years old when she last lived with the boyfriend then-fiancé. She has lived with her dad ever since. Now Ann is 5. She barely knows this man.

hear chris’s story

After Ann’s biological mother tragically passed away, Ann’s mother’s fiancé filed to share custody of Ann with her biological father, Chris. Despite Chris’s competence as a completely fit parent, he had to start sharing custody of his daughter for nearly 14 months. Ann was sent to live part-time with her deceased mother’s fiancé, a man she hardly knew.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court of Texas handed down a unanimous opinion, holding that fit parents like Chris must be presumed to be acting in their child’s best interests.

Therefore, the court reasoned, Chris’s decisions for his daughter could not be overruled simply because the local judge in the case had disagreed.

Ann was allowed to continue living with her father because of this historic and groundbreaking opinion from the Supreme Court of Texas.