Nov 28, 2007, 06:25 PM
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Posted on Wed, Nov. 28, 2007
Cuban father will get custody in settlement
By CAROL MARBIN MILLER
A 5-year-old girl at the center of an international custody dispute will remain in the ''sole custody'' of her Cuban father, who would stay in the U.S., under a negotiated settlement that ends a bitter, protracted courtroom drama.
Meanwhile, the girl's Coral Gables foster family will be allowed regular visits with the girl on alternating weekends, sources close to the negotiations told The Miami Herald.
After months of on again-off again settlement talks, lawyers for the Department of Children & Families and foster parents Joe and Maria Cubas on one side and birth father Rafael Izquierdo, on the other, agreed today to settle their conflict outside of court.
The battle has been in legal limbo since DCF appealed a finding Sept. 26 by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen that Izquierdo is a fit parent.
The settlement, sources have told The Miami Herald, allows Izquierdo -- who raises pigs and malanga in Central Cuba -- to retain sole custody over the girl and places no significant restrictions on his parental rights over the child.
The Cubases -- a Coral Gables couple who have cared for the girl for much of the last two years, and adopted her older brother -- will be allowed regular visits on alternating weekends, at least until May of 2010, sources say.
In May 2010, Izquierdo would be permitted to leave the United States and return to Cuba with his daughter, sources say. If Izquierdo chooses to remain in the U.S. longer, or to seek permanent residency, the Cubases would be allowed to continue their weekend visits until Aug. 31, 2012.
Left with no legal rights to the youngster will be Elena Perez, the girl's mother, who set the drama in motion Dec. 19, 2005 when she cut her wrists with a kitchen knife in a state of emotional turmoil. DCF took her two small children into custody following the suicide attempt, and they have remained in state care ever since.
Sources say Izquierdo will have sole discretion under the agreement as to whether Perez will be allowed to spend time with her daughter.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Spencer Eig, who was first assigned to preside over the case, but later recused himself, signed an order declaring Perez unfit to raise the little girl. Perez has appealed the ''dependency'' order, and the Third District Court of Appeal has yet to rule on her fitness as a parent.
When the trial over Izquierdo's fitness as a parent began on Aug. 27, Izquierdo and Perez presented a united front, sitting near each other at a defense table while their attorneys cooperated during testimony.
But as the trial wore on -- amid allegations by Perez that Izquierdo and one of his lawyers had fabricated evidence and conspired to present false testimony -- the relationship between the two become enormously strained. Eventually, Izquierdo testified he no longer had confidence that Perez was capable of caring for the youngster.
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© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com
Posted on Wed, Nov. 28, 2007
Cuban father will get custody in settlement
By CAROL MARBIN MILLER
A 5-year-old girl at the center of an international custody dispute will remain in the ''sole custody'' of her Cuban father, who would stay in the U.S., under a negotiated settlement that ends a bitter, protracted courtroom drama.
Meanwhile, the girl's Coral Gables foster family will be allowed regular visits with the girl on alternating weekends, sources close to the negotiations told The Miami Herald.
After months of on again-off again settlement talks, lawyers for the Department of Children & Families and foster parents Joe and Maria Cubas on one side and birth father Rafael Izquierdo, on the other, agreed today to settle their conflict outside of court.
The battle has been in legal limbo since DCF appealed a finding Sept. 26 by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen that Izquierdo is a fit parent.
The settlement, sources have told The Miami Herald, allows Izquierdo -- who raises pigs and malanga in Central Cuba -- to retain sole custody over the girl and places no significant restrictions on his parental rights over the child.
The Cubases -- a Coral Gables couple who have cared for the girl for much of the last two years, and adopted her older brother -- will be allowed regular visits on alternating weekends, at least until May of 2010, sources say.
In May 2010, Izquierdo would be permitted to leave the United States and return to Cuba with his daughter, sources say. If Izquierdo chooses to remain in the U.S. longer, or to seek permanent residency, the Cubases would be allowed to continue their weekend visits until Aug. 31, 2012.
Left with no legal rights to the youngster will be Elena Perez, the girl's mother, who set the drama in motion Dec. 19, 2005 when she cut her wrists with a kitchen knife in a state of emotional turmoil. DCF took her two small children into custody following the suicide attempt, and they have remained in state care ever since.
Sources say Izquierdo will have sole discretion under the agreement as to whether Perez will be allowed to spend time with her daughter.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Spencer Eig, who was first assigned to preside over the case, but later recused himself, signed an order declaring Perez unfit to raise the little girl. Perez has appealed the ''dependency'' order, and the Third District Court of Appeal has yet to rule on her fitness as a parent.
When the trial over Izquierdo's fitness as a parent began on Aug. 27, Izquierdo and Perez presented a united front, sitting near each other at a defense table while their attorneys cooperated during testimony.
But as the trial wore on -- amid allegations by Perez that Izquierdo and one of his lawyers had fabricated evidence and conspired to present false testimony -- the relationship between the two become enormously strained. Eventually, Izquierdo testified he no longer had confidence that Perez was capable of caring for the youngster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com