Has anyone had a CHIPS petition on them and what if you can't attend ?

Question

what exactly is the purpose of one ?

my ex hub won in court 6 yrs ago because he knew the guardian at litem and got sole custody of our 4 kids and married a woman in the court field who helped him do so.

he is in wis.. i live in ny.. he didnt let me see my kids or talk to them for 6 yrs. Now he is in jail on 22 counts of sexual assault and the step mom has temp custody and cps filed a chips. my kids are all teens and want to stay there and he brainwashed them against me and i cant afford a lawyer and am not financially able to go there for court. i have been trying to arrange each one over the phone but if you don't attend are you arrested or is it found default against you. this is not criminal against me.

i have tried and tried to have a lawyer help me but have no success.

Answer 1

CHIPS Petition stands for a Child In Need of Protection or Services. What you do need to understand about the legal system is that showing up is half the battle. You need to be in court on the day of the hearing because the court will be making decisions as to the best interest of your children and if you want any say you need to be there with an attorney. Never walk into a courtroom regarding a child custody case without an attorney as they know the specifics regarding family law and can maneuver through the system being competely objective. The fact that you have been an absentee parent regardless of the situation also is a strike against you so if you don's show up, chances are the kids will go somewhere other than with you, espeically if your children want nothing to do with you. A friend of mine that is a family law attorney always says "what is more important to you, your kids or money. If you have to sell your car to get money to fight for your kids then do so because you can always get another car, but your kids are irreplaceable." I must agree with him. I would sell it all before I let my kids go wihout a fight so show up and fight for them. You have not fought for the last 6 years, and it is time you stood up and did so. Think about if you would have kept fighting during the last 6 years, maybe you would have at least talked to them and had an inkling that sexual abuse was going on and you could have stopped it sooner than later.

Here is a website about CHIPS Petitions. Good luck to you!

www.wisspd.org/html/training/ProgMater...