Legal custody advice # 2?
If she goes to court and filed to get sole custody even though for the past 2 years of going in this circle with her parents andthey have been the primary ones taking care of the child and raising him. Would that affect that judgement for the courts to decide whether if she's fit or not. Even though she's on her feet and has got her place with her roommate, works full time and supports her second child? Were going through all the things that she might have to go through in order to get fully prepared for the best and worst, hence why all the legal custody advice questions! I hope someone with the knowledge and/ or background can help!
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Having a second child will be the BIGGEST impediment to her getting custody of her first child. This was a phenomenally immature and foolhardy decision - which demonstrates that she still has a history of making irresponsible decisions. (Since she is living with a roommate and isn't married to baby #2's father, it seems likely she doesn't pick the best guys to have relationships with.)
She is very unlikely to get sole custody based on what you have described. She isn't bonded to her oldest child if she is only seeing him 30 minutes per week. It would be horribly traumatic to take the child away from the only home he has ever known - and judges just don't like to do this. If she wants to work toward regaining custody of her child she needs to STOP having children and needs to get increased visitation with her first child. Forcing a toddler to have overnight visits with a non-custodial parent isn't something judges like to do, but her a$$ should be spending as much time with this child as possible. (And working full time while taking care of another baby will make this difficult.)
Another part of the equation would involve her home environment: You say you are her roommate. Do you have any children? Do all of the children have their own bedrooms? If not, how many kids are in each room. What about boyfriends? Do either of you have shack up honeys? Do boyfriends revolve or are the relationships stable? Is everyone law abiding? The more people who live in the home, the harder it will be to argue this would be a better placement.
EDIT: I just read your immature and outrageous rant posted as a new question (in violation of YA TOS, by the way). Candidly if this is your normal behavior, you could be more of an impediment than your friend's irresponsible reproductive decisions to her regaining custody. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201110...
Yes, she has a good chance of getting custody.
The child has been with the grand parents for awhile now, and courts like to keep children where they are. But that's only one factor.
For getting visitation changed, you can probably do that through friend of the court. I know that the judge meant for her to have lots of visitation time. That's what "joint custody" means. So I think the Judge will look at that and change it with no problem.
For full custody, a lawyer is best.
I think she's got a good chance and should try.
Adding. Anyways.
You could file for full custody without a lawyer. I think the friend of the court can help with that.
But you really need a lawyer. There are many traps that could get you in trouble. And it's not just about standing in front of the judge. It's about understanding what the Judge wants. The judge is going to be looking for certain things, and if you give the judge an answer they don't like, then everything goes bad.
Sometimes lawyers don't cost as much as you think, and there are organization that can help with free service or a discounted service.
Get a lawyer, they will know all the answers.