custody dispute

[angelloves]

i am from indiana and am my ex and i have joint custody with my daughter living with me. she is 10.there has been lots of disagreemments bewteen me and ex. he has played lots of mind games with child. made her cry lots and she doesnt even want to spend any nights with him. he no home phone.he now wants to have me sign modified papers and has talked of going to court. there are alot of factors. what do i do? Angie

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Other than obtaining a consultation with an attorney to discuss all of the issues and points, there's really not much you can do at this point until he decides to file an action against you. At that point, then you should obtain the representation of a Family law attorney nearest to where you live. But, it's a good idea to at least talk to an attorney in anticipation of your husband taking you back to court.

It is unlawful for him to merely take it upon himself to write a modification of custody agreement, and have you sign it, and to force you to abide by such a modification, unless a judge says it's okay. He cannot take the court's jurisdiction away by unilaterally changing the current custody orders without a judge signing a modification to the current orders.

Therefore, do not sign anything until such time as you agree to any changes, and a judge is ready to review and approve any such changes.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 05-20-2001 at 02:14 PM]

 

[dorenephilpot]

The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines that went into effect March 31, 2001, require that parents have numbers at which they can get a hold of each other in case of emergency. If he doesn't have a home phone, then a beeper or cell phone would be in order.

Do you have a copy of those guidelines yet?

If not, I'd be happy to mail you a copy. They offer a lot of guidance on the rights and responsibilities of parents who have a child in common. They're empowering to know because then you won't wonder about whether he's telling the truth about what he plans to do and what your rights are.

You can e-mail me w/your mailing addy, and I'll get a set out to you.