cutebaby

The wife of my uncle has this disease called chorea. Chorea is a hereditary disease that makes involuntary movement from the person. My uncle told me that this is dangerous for the baby because she might dropped the baby because of the involuntary disorder.

To add more problems, my uncle has a problem with his wife and they are on the verge of getting divorce. It is not about the disorder but I won't elaborate it. Let's focus on the baby.

Their baby just turned 1 year old last January this year. They currently lived in Canada and my uncle told me that the law in Canada favors the mother of the child. (I would really appreciate someone who could support or disprove this). My uncle on the other hand is healthy. My uncle really wants to have custody of his child. Which do you think will prevail here, the law that says the child will stay with mother? Or the safety of the child and stays with the father?

grandma2twins

It's still commonly held that a child is best off with it's mother. That doesn't mean that your uncle will automatically lose, however. Judges do take into consideration who can best meet the needs of the child. An illness, in and of itself, will not necessarily make your aunt unfit but she will have to show proof of how it won't be harmful to the child. Your uncle's best bet at this point is to talk to an attorney that specializes in child custody cases.

LoveMaGirl

You know ultimately I can see it being viewed as discrimination if they take the child from the mother. Many women throughout history have coped with children when disabled; a mother's love and care is about far more than having shaky hands or not.

I can potentially see this coming down to the say of medical experts.

KateWantsAnother

I agree with Love. And besides, the fact that the baby is already over a year and won't be needing to be carried as much will factor into that safety decision too. In most cases, as long an neither parent is unfit, joint custody is awarded, but the mother is usually the primary custodial parent.

PurpleFDU

I could see it going either way. More and more fathers are granted custody upon proof of being the more suitable parent. However without proof she has dropped the baby already it may not be enough to gain primary custody. Your uncle also needs to look into himself and think if its truly better for his child to be away from his mother or if he's grasping at straws to gain custody. Its always better to come to a mutual agreement and not fight about these things, illness not included.

cutebaby

Thanks for those comments. I guess my uncle will have a harder fight to have his son under his custody. I have to be biased here because my uncle is closer to me. But judging objectively, I see my uncle as psychologically fit to take care of my cousin. What are the things that he should do in order to win the case? I know a lot of mother here will disagree with me but I would have to say that it is for the good of my cousin.

LoveMaGirl

Yes, I would disagree. A baby needs it's mother, regardless of her health, unless they are in danger somehow.

However all he should do, all he needs to do, is apply for custody. The statistics show that of the men who try to get custody, something like 97% win. The fact that most don't get custody is because they don't want it.

This is still a patriarchal court system, and unless he is a horrible father he is likely to win.