This case comes from the Circuit Court in Amherst County.
Appellant Christopher Hill disputes both of the Amherst County Circuit Court's decisions to grant custody to the mother and finding there was no good reason to remove and replace the GAL. In Christopher Hill v. Shanita Hill, the father was mostly absent from his twin girl's lives. When he did see them, it was volatile, with him calling them "bullies" and ultimately causing them to be afraid of him. He did however move from Florida to Virginia to try to build a relationship with them, but it just didn't happen. Mr. Hill has PTSD and was on medication and believed that to be the reason he was so easily agitated. He also claimed that because the GAL in their case knew the judge's wife, that she should be removed.
"In these two appeals Christopher O. Hill (father) challenges the circuit court’s custody and visitation order, as well as its denial of father’s motion to remove the children’s guardian ad litem (GAL). Father argues that the judge in the Amherst County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (the JDR court) was biased. Upon reviewing the record and briefs of the parties on appeal, we conclude that the circuit court did not err. Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court’s judgment." After hearing the evidence and arguments, the circuit court found that, notwithstanding father’s “sweeping allegations,” there was no basis for father’s claim that the GAL was not qualified. The circuit court further found that “knowing someone doesn’t create a conflict of interest.” The circuit court accepted the GAL’s proffers that she had not discussed employment with the judge’s wife until after the JDR court hearing. The circuit court found that there was no conflict of interest. The circuit court further explained that “this is an appeal de novo as if no hearing had occurred in [d]istrict [c]ourt,” and there was “no legal basis” to remove the GAL. Mother presented evidence that father had had very limited visitation with the children between December 2019 and May 2021. At father’s last visitation in May 2021, mother felt uncomfortable and asked her brother to come by. When mother’s brother arrived, father chased his car and told him to “get out [of] the car and fight him like a man.” Father also yelled towards the children, frightening them enough that one child grabbed a baseball bat. The police were called to help diffuse the situation. Mother suggested to father that he schedule a visit with the children at the YWCA, but father was reluctant to do so because he did “not feel comfortable or safe in Amherst County” after the previous visitation incident. Mother also testified that the weekly telephone calls between father and the children were “Not good.” She had to be the one to call father, because the children did not want to do so. Mother testified that the children frequently cried and were “frustrated” after speaking with father, who told them they were “mean” and called them bullies. Father had a “live-in care giver” who slept in his room which left his second bedroom available for his children. He participated in counseling, through “Telehealth,” to address his “chronic PTSD, depression, anxiety, [and] insomnia” and was compliant with his medications. Father claimed he was stable and not a risk to the children. The circuit court found that father’s relationship with the children was “broken.” Although the circuit court recognized that father had “come a long way,” the circuit court found that “the father’s got issues he’s dealing with, he needs to get his situation completely stabilized.” The circuit court granted sole custody to mother. The circuit court awarded visitation to father through the YWCA’s supervised visitation program and “additional contact with the children in the therapeutic counseling session.” The circuit court maintained father’s weekly telephone visitation with the children for thirty minutes.
In these appeals the Court affirmed the Circuit Court's rulings awarding custody to the mom and finding no fault with the GAL. The facts spoke for themselves in these appeals.
It is always the hope of the courts to see co-parenting work and benefit all parties and for relationships with children restored however that isn't always the case, at least not immediately. Ultimately, finding for the best interests of the children is the outcome the courts and the GAL's seek.
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