I don't know if this is allowed here if not I'm sorry but I don't know where else to ask this question to get the mindset that my friend is in right now. His wife who has been separated from recently attempted suicide. This is the second time that she has done this and since they don't have a formal custody agreement he filed for emergency custody. But he wants to give the children back to their mother after the school year ends in order to avoid a custody battle. He has the idea that fighting for custody is a fruitless endeavor because the court will side with her and she would be able to get the kids back anyway. And taking the kids through that isn't worth it. I just think it would be better to at least try but he is worried about the mother no longer allowing him to have the access to the kids that he has now. Can you please help me understand the pros and cons of pursuing custody. Does the father automatically have less of a chance of winning custody. Can they give her custody back after she proves she is stable. I want to encourage him to fight but I would like to get some opinions because I'm not exactly neutral. Thank you for taking the time to read my block of text!