what "legal documents" are you referring to and did the mother give the stepfather a right to sign on her behalf?New hampshire:
Can a father, who has full legal rights to his children, sue a stepfather for fraud because he signed legal documents pertaining to the children?
Thanks
Removing the kids from public school and placing them in private school without my knowledge or consent.what "legal documents" are you referring to and did the mother give the stepfather a right to sign on her behalf?
Maybe. Depends on the situation whether it's worth it or not.
does your custody and support order address the possibility of private school costs?Worth it? Yes, very subjective. I guess my goal is not having to pay for half the private school.
Worth it? Yes, very subjective. I guess my goal is not having to pay for half the private school.
Yup, pretty much. She always wants my money or anyone else's she can get.So it's not about the school being better or anything like that - it's purely about money, yes?
Yup, pretty much. She always wants my money or anyone else's she can get.
Pro, i'm kinda surprised this is your answer. Unless OPs order specifically addresses schooling and cost, OP is under no obligation to pay and that is something we tell people all the time (yourself included). So why nudge OP for not wanting to pay for private schooling when we don't even know if he has to or not? Plus, we don't know if he can even afford it (have you seen how much private schooling costs!?) Then there is the issue of nudging OP but not the fact that mom seems to have arbitrarily taken it upon herself to move the kids. Again, unless the orders specifically address this issue then its a big deal on MOMs end and not OP. We don't know the form of custody OP has, we don't know how decision making is broken down between OP and his ex, and we certainly don't know how cost is addressed. So until OP answers those questions, OP is perfectly free on the face to object and well within his rights regardless of whether the school is better or not.Ummm...I was actually referring to you...
I think you have a legitimate beef. But I also think that you need to think outside of the wallet box for a sec. Ask yourself very honestly: Is this school better for my child? Is Mom going to be able to convince the court?
Pro, i'm kinda surprised this is your answer. Unless OPs order specifically addresses schooling and cost, OP is under no obligation to pay and that is something we tell people all the time (yourself included). So why nudge OP for not wanting to pay for private schooling when we don't even know if he has to or not? Plus, we don't know if he can even afford it (have you seen how much private schooling costs!?) Then there is the issue of nudging OP but not the fact that mom seems to have arbitrarily taken it upon herself to move the kids. Again, unless the orders specifically address this issue then its a big deal on MOMs end and not OP. We don't know the form of custody OP has, we don't know how decision making is broken down between OP and his ex, and we certainly don't know how cost is addressed. So until OP answers those questions, OP is perfectly free on the face to object and well within his rights regardless of whether the school is better or not.
OP needs to clarify his situation then because on the face, if mom doesn't have the right to unilaterally change schools (and private isn't addressed at all) then all OP would technically have to say is no I don't agree to this and won't pay and that will be that. Doesn't matter if its a better school because we don't know if there are other public options in the area that haven't been explored. If there are then OP could make an even better case to not pay simply out of there being other public options mom just didn't want to choose. Plus, even if there are NOT better public options, how many times do we tell people that private schools tend to be one of those things that aren't forced on a parent without prior private school decisions being made?Some would say it is, very simply, anticipating what OP might have to deal with should Mom make an issue out of it.
It's not that complicated an idea.
I do agree that it would be rare for a judge to order a parent to pay 1/2 of private schooling well after the fact, and when the decision was not agreed upon. Unless the OP is quite wealthy, or unless private schooling has always been the norm for the children (which is obviously not the case here) I cannot see a judge requiring the OP to pay when he had no input into the decision.OP needs to clarify his situation then because on the face, if mom doesn't have the right to unilaterally change schools (and private isn't addressed at all) then all OP would technically have to say is no I don't agree to this and won't pay and that will be that. Doesn't matter if its a better school because we don't know if there are other public options in the area that haven't been explored. If there are then OP could make an even better case to not pay simply out of there being other public options mom just didn't want to choose. Plus, even if there are NOT better public options, how many times do we tell people that private schools tend to be one of those things that aren't forced on a parent without prior private school decisions being made?