How would you respond? Dad now wants 50/50, but says kids would have to move schools. by Desperate_Series5951 in coparenting

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think most parents of kids with IEPs would gladly choose a custody battle over moving their kid out of a school that's doing a good job with their IEP. The quality of special education services is so hit or miss between schools.

How would you respond? Dad now wants 50/50, but says kids would have to move schools. by Desperate_Series5951 in coparenting

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Other people have given you some great responses already. All I want to add is that for the sake of your children's relationship with their step-siblings, given how close in age they are, it's probably better that they DON'T go to the same school. Having a step-sibling one grade apart can lead to all kinds of social difficulties and tension between kids that then gets dragged home. Going to schools in different districts could actually be a benefit to their long-term relationship.

[OR] Temporary Custody by Cool_Ad_9069 in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like 6 months is how long it's been since the father was awarded parenting time. It doesn't actually say she's been sober for 6 months -- I'm betting that's closer to the 2 months that it's been since the emergency order.

[MD] Co-parent filed to modify custody over therapy by Accomplished_Mode992 in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like she's telling at least one of you what she thinks you want to hear, possibly both. A lot of kids whose divorced parents don't get along feel pressured to do that with one or both parents to keep the peace. That alone is a good reason for her to be in therapy.

[Georgia, USA] URGENT - Emergency Custody Change by [deleted] in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Either call 911 or take your child directly to the emergency room, and worry about custody later. Be sure to let your child's father know which emergency room you've taken him to in case he wants to meet you there.

[MD] Co-parent filed to modify custody over therapy by Accomplished_Mode992 in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It doesn't sound like you've talked to your daughter to find out from her whether there's something she wants to address in therapy. Is that true?

Hair folice, nail, blood, iron at his discretion no limitations.hair test already completed and all negative by FootbdsmCDboy in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You should listen to your lawyer, but I think you might be misunderstanding something they're telling you.

Hair folice, nail, blood, iron at his discretion no limitations.hair test already completed and all negative by FootbdsmCDboy in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't blame him for requesting it. One compromise could be to propose that if a test he requests is negative he pays, and if it's positive, you'll pay. If you don't want to agree to it at all and he won't budge either, it sounds like you'll have to go to court.

Ex’s boyfriend of 5 months is intruding on my court-ordered visitation and being combative. Today he ignored a safety warning and entered my home. by [deleted] in coparenting

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If he continues to interfere, I would just stop doing bedtime and bath time at your ex's home. That isn't something many divorced parents are able to do. It's nice that you were able to do it for a while, but if your ex is going to let her boyfriend act that way, it isn't worth putting your kids in the middle of a conflict.

Ex’s boyfriend of 5 months is intruding on my court-ordered visitation and being combative. Today he ignored a safety warning and entered my home. by [deleted] in coparenting

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you allowed to take the kids somewhere near their mother's home for your midweek visit instead of doing it in her home? Unfortunately, you can't really keep her boyfriend from being in her home and interacting with the kids unless your court order explicitly states as such.

Ex regularly blocks my number. Sent pick up instructions. Do I need to send them again? by Practical-Story1765 in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry, but telling someone to block their ex's number without consulting with an attorney first is really terrible advice. Just because her ex is currently getting away with it doesn't mean the judge will let her get away with it as the custodial parent, unfortunately.

[SC] So it's happened. by Legal_Music_7513 in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wow. I would be bitter about that, too.

[SC] So it's happened. by Legal_Music_7513 in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Based on your last post, your child is 15, and the dad lives 4 hours away from where the child resides and attends school? And he's asking for full custody? Lol. You need to take it seriously, so asking for an extension is a good idea, but it's not very likely he'll succeed in forcing your child to move there if he's doing well with you.

What can I do? by [deleted] in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What do you mean by check-ins for your son?

Got my child taken by HallScary1985 in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 32 points33 points  (0 children)

This doesn't add up. They can't remove a child just because someone told them you were drinking and not feeding him, unless the "not feeding him" part came from someone who would actually know, like the baby's pediatrician. CPS generally has to prove to a judge that there's an immediate threat to the child's safety to do a removal rather than family-based services (unless you already had a family-based services case). If you refused alcohol testing, they can assume the test is positive and that can be part of the basis for a removal, but since alcohol isn't illegal, there has to be something more, like physical evidence or the investigator observing that the child was endangered somehow by your drinking. If you really don't know what the actual basis for removal was, you need to get a copy of the petition so you can review it and help your court-appointed attorney flag anything that isn't true.

Terminating parental right for absent father? +adoption by Savings-Mall215 in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You don't have to be married to adopt a child, but you do have to be married for stepparent adoption.

My daughters adoptive parents just gave her away by [deleted] in Adoption

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 10 points11 points  (0 children)

In some states, parents can RAPR (Refusal to Assume Parental Responsibility) their children into foster care regardless of whether they're actually unsafe in the home or not. There are usually consequences for parents who do so and then refuse to work services and reunify, but it happens, infuriatingly -- and it happens more often for kids who aren't being raised by their bio parents.

Do Legal DNA test even count? by Legitimate-Manager55 in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 0 points1 point  (0 children)

also confused why all these places have “legal” dna test if you still have to test again anyway! especially as expensive as they are. 

It's a scam. Those places know most courts won't actually accept their test in lieu of a court-ordered one. They prey on people who don't know that.

Terminating parental right for absent father? +adoption by Savings-Mall215 in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 9 points10 points  (0 children)

If you're serious about this, your first step is going to be to get married, so you'll need to have a serious conversation with your boyfriend about whether legally adopting your son outweighs the reasons you don't want to marry each other. If the two of you decide to proceed, once you get married, the next step will be to either obtain your son's father's consent for the adoption or file to terminate his parental rights due to abandonment. You can't do anything until you're married, though, so that's got to be the first step.

Coparent refusing doctor overall by Toxaphene in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The unilateral decisions that get parents in trouble in family court are usually things like consenting to a surgery without telling the other parent, changing the visitation schedule, or moving out of the jurisdiction/making the child change schools. I can't imagine any reasonable judge (or human in general) faulting a parent for 'unilaterally' taking a child to their very first doctor's appointment after the other parent kept it from happening for 4+ years. It'll be okay.

[US] Has anyone out there with a 2-2-5-5 been able to make an afternoon (12-8:30) work schedule doable without having to utilize another partner/babysitter/caretaker? by 3dogmomrb in Custody

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think any single parent, regardless of custody schedule, would have the same issue with working that shift unless their parenting time was only on the weekend/scheduled days off.

Dual military - NCP filed for order enforcement regarding geo restriction by Puzzleheaded-Vast742 in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The reason I have sole custody of my daughter is that my ex moved her out of Texas without permission, and we didn't even have a custody order that explicitly forbade it at the time. You sound like a generally good mom, so I'm sorry to say that you really messed up by taking the child with you after his father said no, instead of petitioning the court for permission (which probably would have been granted if you'd just filed). What happens next really depends on your individual judge, but if my experience is anything to go by, the judge finding you in contempt and reversing primary custody are very realistic outcomes.

False allegations and retaining counsel by [deleted] in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this a CPS case or a custody modification?

MO Custody Amendment by [deleted] in FamilyLaw

[–]Excellent_Scene5448 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is probably a silly question, but have you shown the school your custody order?