It's no secret that child custody battles have the potential to be costly, complex and emotionally draining, regardless of whether they involve formerly married couples, unmarried couples or various family members. In fact, these disputes can sometimes prove to be so emotional that parties involved simply take matters into their own hands, an unfortunate situation that can ultimately cause more harm than good.

Interestingly, this is exactly the type of conflict in which country music star Mindy McCready found herself embroiled last week.

According to reports, a Florida court granted Gayle Inge -- McCready's mother -- legal custody of the singer's son back in 2005. McCready, in turn, was awarded visitation rights, marking the start of a prolonged legal battle.

During a late November visit to Florida to see her now 5-year-old son, however, McCready took the boy back to Tennessee without the permission of either the court or her mother.

She later informed the Associated Press during a telephone interview that she had no intention of returning her son to Florida and that she had taken him because he had been abused at her mother's home.

"I'm doing all this to protect [my son], not stay out of trouble," she said. "I don't think I should be in trouble for protecting my son in the first place."

Last Thursday, a Florida judge signed an order instructing law enforcement officials to take the boy and return him to Inge's home.

"Mom has violated the court's custody order and we are simply restoring the child back into our custody," reads the order. "Nothing more. Nothing less. The court makes no judgment about whether Mom will or will not competently care for the child while in her custody. It only wants the child back to where the court placed him."

However, McCready and her son were not located until Saturday when law enforcement officials in Arkansas -- acting on a tip -- found the pair hiding in a bedroom closet of an unoccupied summer home.

Here, authorities had targeted Arkansas as a location to where McCready might travel given her previous visits to the state -- in particular the home where she was found.

McCready's son was taken into custody and is in the process of being sent back to Florida. He was described as being in good health.

As for McCready, she was not arrested in Arkansas, and will likely not face criminal charges for entering the unoccupied home. However, it remains to be seen whether she will be prosecuted by the state of Florida.

Most country music fans know McCready for her steady stream of hits, as well as her history of personal struggles with depression and addiction.

Stay tuned for updates from our Phoenix divorce blog ...

If you are currently involved in a child custody dispute or would like more information regarding visitation rights, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced legal professional.

This post is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. Names have been withheld to protect the identity of the parties.

Source:

Fox News, "Authorities Take Custody of Singer Mindy McCready's son" Dec. 3, 2011