Bam Margera's tough times aren't getting any better ... his wife's asking for custody of their 3-year-old son, but hasn't pulled the trigger on ending the couple's marriage.
According to court records ... Nicole Boyd filed docs Wednesday in Los Angeles seeking full custody of their child, Phoenix Wolf. She's willing to give Bam visitation, but only with a monitor -- whom he can select -- but she must approve.
It's interesting ... you usually see child custody issues attached to a divorce, but Nicole made custody a stand-alone. She did not file a divorce petition to end their 8-year marriage.
As you know ... the "Jackass" star has had an incredibly turbulent past couple years, which recently culminated with him suing Johnny Knoxville and several other members of the "Jackass" team for alleged "inhumane treatment."
This came well after Bam got booted from the fourth installment of the film franchise for failing to stay clear of drugs and alcohol, escalating attacks on the "Jackass" crew and rants about suicide. Things got so bad, director Jeff Tremaine got a restraining order against him.
Of course, before that, Margera's had multiple stints in rehab and various legal issues ... and has simply had a hard time getting his life on track.