Joint custody ..Ex May go to Jail

[fburke]

What is the name of your state MA


My ex and I have Joint custody of our son. she has physical…right now she is going through a court cass for stealing over 25k from her employer and may wind up going to jail…

At this point she does not know I know anything about her legal issues but I am wondering if she does get incarcerated would I need to petition the courts at all or would my divorce papers be considered the legal order.

I’m concerned that her new husband seeing that his paycheck will end if my son moves out may try to pull a fast one by saying he can still live there.. My son is 15 and I’m sure a move may rock his world a bit but in my eyes as a Dad he belongs with me not his stepfather …that not even arguing that I can afford to give him a better life and environment

also is there any leagal way I can find out about her case? i can't find anything online for Ma court cases.

thanks!

 

[liandrajade]

What is the name of your state MA

At this point she does not know I know anything about her legal issues but I am wondering if she does get incarcerated would I need to petition the courts at all or would my divorce papers be considered the legal order.

So then how do you know this information? Where did it come from? What do the court orders say EXACTLY word for word?

I’m concerned that her new husband seeing that his paycheck will end if my son moves out may try to pull a fast one by saying he can still live there..

That makes no sense, what does your son living there have to do with him and a paycheck? I am assuming you are paying child support, are you saying that your ex and her husband lives off what you pay in support? Are you also paying alimony?

A step parent has NO legal say over anything. If your ex really does go to jail, you legally are the only one the child can be placed with, barring some weird out of nowhere situation that suddenly makes you an unfit parent in some weird universe{in other words more than likely NOT going to happen but a lawyer can tell you better}

also is there any leagal way I can find out about her case?

I do not think you will be able to. That information is private and you have no rights to it, short of you filing for custody against her and then having your attorney subpoena the employer who filed the charges against her, I do not see how you can LEGALLY get it.

 

[fburke]

Thanks for the reply..

I know this…second hand unfortunately…her family and I have always stayed close…yes I understand this is hearsay…and the reason for me wanting to find out the real story before I do anything…I will not act on something I hear second hand.

New Husband’s pay check…this was me being sarcastic….however after my ex and I split I got an education and I do quite well and follow the law and child support guidelines and my child support payment is quite a bit more than he makes ..even when he is working full time.

I know he has no Legal right to my son but I do live in a different town and a move for my son would be difficult on it’s own…and just my knowing him he ( the husband) would try to make it as difficult as possible by playing the guilt card on having to move…new school..friends..ecc..he would loose but so would my son.

 

[liandrajade]

Unfortunately, short of proof or pending incarceration, I think you may really have to wait on this. You still need to spell out what your court orders say.

 

[mistoffolees]

Unfortunately, short of proof or pending incarceration, I think you may really have to wait on this. You still need to spell out what your court orders say.

Absolutely correct.

HOWEVER, to answer the question. IF she does go to jail, you can probably file for an ex parte order for temporary custody. Certainly her incarceration is a change in circumstances that would allow for that.

Her new husband has no say in the matter. Child custody issues are between Dad and Mom. Stepparents are legal strangers.

As long as there are no issues concerning you (CPS orders, restraining orders, etc), you'd have a very good chance of getting custody on an emergency basis if the incarceration is more than a couple of days.

IF that happens, you must file a separate request for child support to end (and possibly alimony if applicable). Child support continues until the court says it ends. You may be able to do that at the custody hearing (I don't know the actual procedure). Frankly, I'd get an attorney for this - time is very important.

 

[LdiJ]

Absolutely correct.

HOWEVER, to answer the question. IF she does go to jail, you can probably file for an ex parte order for temporary custody. Certainly her incarceration is a change in circumstances that would allow for that.

Her new husband has no say in the matter. Child custody issues are between Dad and Mom. Stepparents are legal strangers.

As long as there are no issues concerning you (CPS orders, restraining orders, etc), you'd have a very good chance of getting custody on an emergency basis if the incarceration is more than a couple of days.

IF that happens, you must file a separate request for child support to end (and possibly alimony if applicable). Child support continues until the court says it ends. You may be able to do that at the custody hearing (I don't know the actual procedure). Frankly, I'd get an attorney for this - time is very important.

Keep in mind though that if she does not have a record she may not get incarcerated. Those kinds of cases are big on restitution, and if someone is in jail they can't make restitution. She might end up with house arrest or heavy probation.

 

[fburke]

I know she may not go to jail but I am just trying to prepare myself discreetly,…there are other issues with this case where they may go hard on her…in my original post I had said she stole from an employer…that was a little misleading….she is or was a certified Nursing Assistant and Home Health Aide…she stole the money from one of her elderly clients while working as a professional care giver in their home.

She has already gone through a hearing in front of the state Nursing Board and had her license pulled..and about 6 months before this she lost another job for the same reason..she was never charged but there was still an open investigation on it so that may come back to haunt her.…..judges around here will go easy on the local shoplifter that steals a few dollars…but when it comes to crimes against the elderly and this large amount ( 25k )…things can go bad.

She will do whatever she can to keep me from finding out so I am just trying to be careful to not cross any lines, butt to gather as much info as possible. Most of what I know has been told to be by her family members…I do not really have any real documented info and do not know where to start to legally obtain it.

As far as the custody part I will not have any issues I have never been in any trouble have a good job I am married own my own home actually 2 of them and have 2 younger children, and we all get along very well, I have always been a part of my sons life.

As far as child support goes I don’t care if I get any for her I am more concerned about my son’s quality of life then the few dollars she would be forced to pay me.

 

[liandrajade]

It's not necessarily misleading, she DID steal from the elderly person she was employed to take care of.

We already said that legally, short of starting proceedings and having your attorney or unless the judge subpoenas the records and other pending case information, you cannot legally get the information. There is no way around that, innocent until proven guilty is a right for a reason.

The only thing that might be legal to get on your own is her license information from the department of health. Certain licensing information for some occupations is available under FOIA/FOIL or however your state lists it freedom of information laws.

Even still, proving she lost her license means nothing unless you can back up with PROOF and create reasonable doubt as to why the information should be requested in court, assuming things go as far as you say they might.