joint custody need to get sole custody A.S.A.P.

[claw06]

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

I will try to give everyone as much information as I can.

My ex-husband and I have joint physical and legal custody of our 13 year old daughter. I am supposed to have her every other week. I need to have this revised and have no idea how I go about this or how to pay for it. I am a fulltime college student and I work at the college part time as part of a work study program. I have a very meager income. However, I have managed to rent a tiny 2 bedroom townhouse for my daughter and I that is 27 miles away from her school. But, that is where it was affordable. I receive no spousal maintenance or child support.
My ex-husband owns his own company and makes a decent living. He lives 8 blocks from her school in a nice, new 1 bedroom townhouse. She sleeps on a pull out couch in the living room.
We separated last August and were divorced in December. My ex-husband is an alcoholic. He is not a daily drinker but when he does drink he does not stop. Since our divorce I have had to pick her up in the middle of the night on 3 separate occasions due to his drinking. One of those times because he was in jail for driving under the influence of Alcohol. Then, I had to pick her and her friend up last night because they went out to dinner for Father's Day and after dinner he went into the restaurant's bar. When my daughter asked him to leave, he told her to walk home. So, I picked her up and brought her back to my house.
If it is her week to stay at her Dad's but she is sick, upset or has a large project for school she will stay with me. I take her to the orthodontist, physician, and talk with school counselors etc. She has said several times that she does not like living at her Dad's. She has said that he is always at work and when he is not he is drinking.
Every time I have tried to speak with him about this it always comes back to money. He does not want to help "support" me by having to pay child support. He has also told me to try and get full custody. He knows that I can not afford a lawyer. That is also how are divorce went.
I need help, if someone could just tell me where to start.
Thank you.

 

[seniorjudge]

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=311247

Keep your questions in the first thread you started about this problem.

 

[LdiJ]

You didn't have an attorney for the divorce, did you, and believed everything he said as a result? You didn't call the police either and get a police report on the three times you had to pick her up in the middle of the night due to his drinking either did you?

You allowed him to walk all over you in the divorce, and you are allowing him to walk all over you and your child now.

So...its time to grow up. Its admirable that you are going to school to better your and your child's life, however its quite possible that working full time, and going to school part time is a better option.

The bottom line is that after such a short amount of time (since the divorce) you really can't effect any change without an attorney....and without hard evidence. Its also quite possible that you wouldn't be in the position that you are in now if you had had one for the divorce.

So...start calling the police when you have to pick your daughter up due to his drinking. Get a consult with a local attorney to understand what your true position is. Then, if you decide to file for a modification beg or borrow from family to help you handle the legal costs....and understand that you may have to go to school part time rather than full time.

 

[GrowUp!]

Just looking at the title of the thread make me . OP, there's more important things you NEED to do.