She probably shouldn't lose custody of the son, but he might be of an age, sounds like he is, where he needs a father (of course he needs a father at every age unless he is one of the rare ones who doesn't). Not a father figure, but a real life father, flaws and all. Perhaps no custody overnight, but definite times to see him and spend good blocks of time with him. Now, if the father is a drunkard, abusive, violent etc. he should only have supervised visits and none at all depending on the type of abuse..if it is along the lines of road rage then perhaps supervised visits but in some situations no contact. Mothers will manipulate at times, not your friend I am sure, and many do not realize the deep need that some, not all, boys have for their fathers. Has this been discussed with the boy? Probably a social worker should. mg