Single Dad reunited with “at-risk” sons

By Efar Veronique

A great dad who was very involved in his young sons’ lives — ages 3 and 5 — suddenly found himself cut off entirely from them for no reason at all, according to court documents.

Devastated, he turned to attorney Jeffery M. Leving for help. This dad explained that, not only was the mother keeping his kids from him — which was horrific for him — but also, he said she was trying to destroy his relationship with his kids. “Parental alienation can be emotionally traumatizing, especially to vulnerable children. It can harm children emotionally, psychologically, mentally and even physically,” said Leving, who will talk about this case on the Dads Rights Legal Hour, 9–10 a.m. CDT this Saturday on Power 92.3 FM.

Dad needed help fast. The Leving team went to court quickly and argued that depriving these two little boys of their father, who had been such a loving and strong parent in their lives, was causing the children harm.

The Judge agreed and entered a Court order reuniting dad with his children. The Judge ordered that dad be provided parenting time each week, as well as summer parenting time and make up parenting time in the event he does not get all parenting time ordered by the court, due to specific circumstances. Moreover, the Judge ordered that the mother cannot say anything derogatory about dad in the presence of the children.

This dad had a very stressful and gut-wrenching situation. The Leving team secured him the result he was looking for — a relationship with his children. Dad was overjoyed with this victory, modified for broadcast. “This courageous dad never gave up hope and neither did I,” said Leving.

Parental alienation threatens the bond between the child and parent, and can even destroy that relationship. Parental alienators sometimes do not make the best decisions on behalf of their children, for a variety of reasons. “Sometimes they’re ill-informed and are blinded by anger as to what’s really best for their kids, while sometimes, unfortunately, they use their children as pawns in a game of revenge” against the targeted parent, said Leving. Examples of this have come up in the context of the coronavirus vaccine.

The coronavirus vaccine is approved for children ages 12 and up. Children can be particularly at risk of contracting the disease and even dying from it.

However, there are some parents who are preventing their eligible children from getting the vaccine — either because they believe anti-vaccine conspiracies, or because they want to stir up trouble with the other parent. Detective Wayne Halick, himself a father said, “I know of one of Leving’s cases where he represented the father, and the mother lost all of her parenting time because she refused to allow her children to be vaccinated.”

When one parent has sole decision-making authority on medical issues, that authority can be a dangerous legal tool for a parental alienator to keep their teenagers from getting the vaccine. Coronavirus can be a matter of life and death, with over 20,000 deaths in Illinois and over 600,000 nationally.

One solution to the problem where the mother has sole decision-making authority and refuses vaccination, is to go to Court. “We can tell the judge that the mother is negligent in her responsibility, if that’s the case, and ask the judge to modify the decision-making order so Dad has a say,” said Leving.

“This is an urgent matter,” Halick said. “We cannot let games of retaliation threaten the health of our children.” Children have returned to school in the classrooms, and the time to get them vaccinated to keep them safe and healthy is now.

Jeffery M. Leving is founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. He is the author of Fathers’ Rights, Divorce Wars and How to be a Good Divorced Dad, the latter of which was endorsed by President Obama. To learn more about Leving and his latest court victories, follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and view his videos on You Tube.