What is the name of your state? Arkansas
My divorce decree orders joint legal custody with me having physical custody of my 2 daughters (9 & 7). We have been back to court once (he took me to lower his child support). The judge lowered his child support, but placed a judgement for arrearage for $4,400 (at $20 per week to be added to child support payments) a judgement for my attorney fees (which he never paid, therefore losing my attorney for me), and a judgement to pay 1/2 of medical bills due. She also ordered HIM to talk to me about the children (and NOT his wife), she ordered exchange of children to be 1/2 way between our locations at a town we both agreed on and threatened to jail him if support was even one day late, but no custody/visitation arrangements were changed. She also ordered him to stop making disparaging remarks about me to the children and to me in their presence (I have heard him on the phone saying "Kids, your F***** bitch of a mother wants to talk to you and he always cussed me during the exchange when I was alone, but never when someone was with me).
Still, for the sake of the children, I tried to be cooperative. Things had gone pretty well, except for the missing child support payments, but the money is not the most important issue. We agreed, verbally (Summer, 2005), to him having both children during the summer months and me having them during the school year and I agreed to cut his child support payments in half. 2005 went pretty well, except his remarks continued about me to my children. I still tried to keep the peace, wanting them to be a part of his life. He hates me, but he loves them.
They went to him for summer of 2006 and at the end of the summer he refused to return them. We met (me, him, his wife, and the children) and discussed possibilities. I must admit that I am still afraid of him, but not afraid for the children. My oldest daughter had become unruley, disruptive and disrespectful to me.....her exact words were "I don't care if I ever see you again." So against my better judgement, I agreed to let them stay with him (on a month to month TRIAL basis), be enrolled in school (I now know my name was on nothing at their school) and abate the child support. I would get the children every other weekend but no child support would be paid by either party.
I saw the girls on August 20 & 21, he then became uncooperative and verybally abused me on the phone with the children listening, he demanded I drive additional time to pick them up, which I refused. On September 8, when I went to meet (1.5 hours away) them for my weekend visitation, he didn't show and would not answer his phone or return any of my messages. I continued driving to his home (3 hours) and they weren't there. I drove around (small town) to different family member's home, but they were not to be found. I called the sheriff's office for assistance and was told "We dont get involved in family disputes."
I made an appointment with my attorney the following Wednesday. She told me to "go get your kids" since I had custody of them and he had broken our agreement. I went to the school the next day (another 3 hour drive) and he had taken them out of school and actually hid them from me. Even though I gave the principal a copy of the court order giving me physical custody, I was told I couldn't have them, even if they were there. My name was on nothing of theirs at the school, except the copy of the birth certificate. They finally read my court order and apologized, but said that they weren't there, therefore they couldn't give them to me. (That may be another case being filed!!!)
My attorney then tried to file an ex parte seeking their immediate return due to the fact that I was in fear for their safety, not necessarily physical, but emotional and because he had refused my visitation. The judge refused to sign it since I had voluntarily let him keep them, even though he had refused to let me talk to them or see them. But, I was given a court date on 9/27. Which means by then I will have not spoken to or seen my children in over a month.
I have since learned he is using drugs (We are asking for a hair folicle test which will get them back to me immediately, I am told, if he fails it) and I have talked to friends of his that say the girls hate me and want to have nothing to do with me, nor do they want to speak to me or see me, so that tells me they are still being told "God only knows what". My fear is that he has totally and completely turned them against me. I was played for a fool and I now know the only reason they were cooperative for a time was to plan this "takeover" for lack of a better word. I called him this weekend, asking to see them and I was told "Eat **** and die.....but talk to my attorney first." (At least he answered, since he now has an attorney.) I keep calling and texting, hoping they will know that I kept trying every day to talk to them and to see them. I want them home and I want them in counseling.
My question is: Even though I agreed to let him keep them for the school year (Nothing was changed legally regarding custody, only a written agreement that we both signed.) what are my chances of revoking that agreement based on these current events and his uncooperativeness in regard to me seeing my children?
My divorce decree orders joint legal custody with me having physical custody of my 2 daughters (9 & 7). We have been back to court once (he took me to lower his child support). The judge lowered his child support, but placed a judgement for arrearage for $4,400 (at $20 per week to be added to child support payments) a judgement for my attorney fees (which he never paid, therefore losing my attorney for me), and a judgement to pay 1/2 of medical bills due. She also ordered HIM to talk to me about the children (and NOT his wife), she ordered exchange of children to be 1/2 way between our locations at a town we both agreed on and threatened to jail him if support was even one day late, but no custody/visitation arrangements were changed. She also ordered him to stop making disparaging remarks about me to the children and to me in their presence (I have heard him on the phone saying "Kids, your F***** bitch of a mother wants to talk to you and he always cussed me during the exchange when I was alone, but never when someone was with me).
Still, for the sake of the children, I tried to be cooperative. Things had gone pretty well, except for the missing child support payments, but the money is not the most important issue. We agreed, verbally (Summer, 2005), to him having both children during the summer months and me having them during the school year and I agreed to cut his child support payments in half. 2005 went pretty well, except his remarks continued about me to my children. I still tried to keep the peace, wanting them to be a part of his life. He hates me, but he loves them.
They went to him for summer of 2006 and at the end of the summer he refused to return them. We met (me, him, his wife, and the children) and discussed possibilities. I must admit that I am still afraid of him, but not afraid for the children. My oldest daughter had become unruley, disruptive and disrespectful to me.....her exact words were "I don't care if I ever see you again." So against my better judgement, I agreed to let them stay with him (on a month to month TRIAL basis), be enrolled in school (I now know my name was on nothing at their school) and abate the child support. I would get the children every other weekend but no child support would be paid by either party.
I saw the girls on August 20 & 21, he then became uncooperative and verybally abused me on the phone with the children listening, he demanded I drive additional time to pick them up, which I refused. On September 8, when I went to meet (1.5 hours away) them for my weekend visitation, he didn't show and would not answer his phone or return any of my messages. I continued driving to his home (3 hours) and they weren't there. I drove around (small town) to different family member's home, but they were not to be found. I called the sheriff's office for assistance and was told "We dont get involved in family disputes."
I made an appointment with my attorney the following Wednesday. She told me to "go get your kids" since I had custody of them and he had broken our agreement. I went to the school the next day (another 3 hour drive) and he had taken them out of school and actually hid them from me. Even though I gave the principal a copy of the court order giving me physical custody, I was told I couldn't have them, even if they were there. My name was on nothing of theirs at the school, except the copy of the birth certificate. They finally read my court order and apologized, but said that they weren't there, therefore they couldn't give them to me. (That may be another case being filed!!!)
My attorney then tried to file an ex parte seeking their immediate return due to the fact that I was in fear for their safety, not necessarily physical, but emotional and because he had refused my visitation. The judge refused to sign it since I had voluntarily let him keep them, even though he had refused to let me talk to them or see them. But, I was given a court date on 9/27. Which means by then I will have not spoken to or seen my children in over a month.
I have since learned he is using drugs (We are asking for a hair folicle test which will get them back to me immediately, I am told, if he fails it) and I have talked to friends of his that say the girls hate me and want to have nothing to do with me, nor do they want to speak to me or see me, so that tells me they are still being told "God only knows what". My fear is that he has totally and completely turned them against me. I was played for a fool and I now know the only reason they were cooperative for a time was to plan this "takeover" for lack of a better word. I called him this weekend, asking to see them and I was told "Eat **** and die.....but talk to my attorney first." (At least he answered, since he now has an attorney.) I keep calling and texting, hoping they will know that I kept trying every day to talk to them and to see them. I want them home and I want them in counseling.
My question is: Even though I agreed to let him keep them for the school year (Nothing was changed legally regarding custody, only a written agreement that we both signed.) what are my chances of revoking that agreement based on these current events and his uncooperativeness in regard to me seeing my children?
