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I'm soo mad I could spit fire!!  My DH has a son from his 1st marriage.  He's always paid his CS on time, is NOT in arrears and never had a problem till we moved.

We are now in Florida and the people in the CS office have to be totally daft!!

My husband received a summons for Contempt of court due to failure to pay CS.  WTF?

Court was today...he was prepared with all his pay slips showing the CS had been deducted.  So they call him up, the judge says "well you have no arrears, looks like you have made and are making all your payments...do you have anything to add"....  My DH was about to open his mouth when the judge then said...""you've won, don't say anything"...

Done and overwith right?? WRONG....DH had to PAY...get this $90 court costs???  WTF???

DH didn't mess up...CSE did...so why are they making my DH pay $90 in court costs???

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/02/sears.family.divorce/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/02/sears.family.divorce/index.html)

A friend of mine just got her final divorce.  XH was abusive, controling and a severe alcoholic.  They were married for 15 years, my friend never had a drivers license because her X forbade her to have one, wouldn't let her work and would withhold her asthma medication until she had sex with him.  I thank god she finally got away from him!!  Problem is, they have a 10 y/o daughter, my friend got custody, has a job, apartment but still doesn't have a car and only a lerners permit at this time.   Prior to the final decree, my friend would give X $20 EOW for gas because the judge ordered that she provide minimal compensation due to him having to provide all the transportation (she moved 60 miles away because the cost of living in X's town was more than she could afford and to prevent him from constantly harrassing her).  He still complained about having to do all the transportation and how much it was costing him (eventhough she was compensating him for it) and asked to have the CS lowered....the judge granted it but ever since the X has yet to pick up his daughter for visitation...it's been 3 months.  I told her to keep a log of when he is supposed to have their DD and fails to pick her up.  
After how much time can she petition to have full CS reinstated due to his failure to pick up the child?  We're not talking a whole lot of $$$  The original CS amount was set at $275 a month, and he got it lowered to $195.  That $80 a month would go a long way towards food, clothing, and the other things her DD needs!!!
Thanks!!

My YD's father is now over $11K in arrears.  He is/was a school bus driver and I typically don't get support in the summer but I budget for that.  Back in October his wife was killed in a car accident (he was driving), ever since then the CS has been sporadic and now it has stopped all together.  I haven't received any CS in over a month now.  I do have a case with CSE, but they don't seem to do much of anything.  I have a feeling he may have quit his job because according to his parents....ever since the accident, he's felt uncomfortable driving the bus.
Should I contact CSE and find out what is going on?  The accident wasn't his fault and he may get a large financial settlement....Can CSE snag that like they do Tax Refunds?

Oh...incase you're wondering...no, he has no relationship with my daughter...through his choice.
Thanks,

My OD lives with her father in CA, I live in MD.  When X and OD (15)moved to CA he told her that if she didn't like it, that she could come back here to MD.  She's said many times that she didn't like it there but he won't let her come back.  Right now she is with me for the summer and has stated all summer that she didn't want to go back :-(  She asked me to talk to her father about her staying and I told her that she needed to be the one to talk to her father and then have him talk to me.  Did I do the right thing?  

Custody order in MD, CS order now in WI.  CP lives in MD with child, NCP lives in MI.

8 years ago custody and CS were set in MD.  Judge stated CS amount of $275 per month but an order (for some reason) was never written up and this error was discovered by CP when applying for a Mortgage program.  NCP had been paying sporatically, usually 9 months out of 12 were paid (he often did not pay during the summer when he had child for visitation).

CP (me), then went to MD CSE office in JULY 2005 to "establish" a CS order.  CSE office sent paperwork to MI CSE who returned it stating NCP did not reside in MI and that WI has jurisdiction.  Paperwork was then submitted to WI CSE (NCP lives on the border of WI/MI) who stated NCP does not live in WI, send to MI...grrr.  Finally CSE office got confirmation from NCP employer and papwork went through WI CSE.

I JUST received the CS order from WI that states the NCP resides in MI.  That he is to pay $275 per month starting on Jan 01, 2007 and that he owes no arrears.  The court date was December 6th, 2006 and I was never notified of this.

Questions:

1.  I filed for the CS order in July of 2005, shouldn't the order be dated BACK to that date?

2.  Should I have been notified that a court date was set?

3.  According to my calculations (and the missed payments during the summer), NCP should have had an arrearage amount of $1,925, yet the order states he owes NO arrearages. Can I dispute this?

4.  WI bases CS on a flat 17% of income.  I estimate his income to now be approximately $13 an hour which would make the CS amount to be $383 a month.  Yet the court set the CS at the original CS amount of $275, can I ask for a Modification or even an accounting of what they based the CS amount on?

Any other advice is GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks!!!

Two lawyers had been stranded on a desert island for several
months. The Only thing on the island was a tall coconut tree that provided them their only food.

Each day one of the lawyers would climb to the top to see if he could spot a rescue boat coming.

One day the lawyer yelled down from the tree, "WOW, I just can't believe my eyes. There is a woman out there floating in our direction."

The lawyer on the ground was most skeptical and said, "You're hallucinating; you've finally lost your mind."

But within a few minutes, up to the beach floated a stunning red head, face up, totally naked, unconscious, without even so much as a ring or earrings on her person.

The two lawyers went down to the water, dragged her up on the beach and discovered, yes, she was alive, warm and breathing.

One said to the other, "You know, we've been on this God forsaken island for months now without a woman. It's been such a long, long time.... So..do you think we should ..  well...  you know... screw her?"

 "Out of WHAT?!?" asked the other

Original Divorce/Custody Decree set in AK back in 1993

In 1994 50/50 Joint custody ordered.

In Dec 1996 CP got orders to Ft. Bragg, NC.  NCP tried to stop move but was denied by the court, CP was allowed to take child to NC.  NCP could not move at that time due to pregnancy.

In May 1997 (2 weeks after birth of son) NCP moved to MD (that's the closest I could get to NC and still have family support).  

CP and OD still currently live in NC, CP is in the Military stationed at Fort Bragg, NC.  CP has gotten word (but no formal orders) that he will be moving to Ft. Irwin, CA sometime this summer.  NCP is still in MD.

OD is 14 years old and does not want to move to CA.  She wishes to move in with NCP while CP is in CA, but has expressed her desire to move back to NC if the CP moves back in a years time.  At this time it is unclear as to how long the CP will be in CA.

Current relations between NCP and CP are fairly good, however, OD has expressed her wishes to the CP that she wants to move in with NCP rather than CA and CP stated to her that it wasn't an option.  

OD will be starting High School in the fall.  NCP has done some research and found that the CA High Schools she could attend there don't even come close to being as good as the schools in NCP's area (the HS she would attend in NCP's area is listed as being #675 out of the TOP 1000 HS's in the NATION).

CP has no family in the CA area, in fact all his family is located on the East coast (NC and TN).  Not only will OD be with her 2 other siblings (NCP has 2 additional children), NCP's father is in the area, her uncle (NCP's brother) is also in the area.  NCP has fairly good relationship with CP's Mother as well.

QUESTIONS:

1.  I would rather do this with out going to court, however, I know the CP will not go for it.   Given the fact that OD wishes to move in with NCP, family in the area and better schools, how much weight would be given to the 14 y/o's wishes?

2.  I know I will probably have to file in NC and from what I have read regarding NC courts, they like to go through "mediation" first.  I seriously doubt this will work because CP has a history of not cooperating with "mediation".  Should mediation be ordered, but CP runs out of time prior to him having to report to CA, what happens then?  
2a. Could the NC court block him from taking her to CA until the mediation process is complete?

3.  NCP pans on drawing up a "temporary" agreement and talking to CP about the change in custody before NCP files anything.  Basically stating that while CP is in CA, child will reside with NCP, visitation will be as follows (blah...blah...blah) then upon CP's return to NC, residential custody will revert back to CP (these are her wishes).  Should the CP reject this agreement and the NPC files a formal custody change, can the NCP use it as "evidence" to the CP's uncooperation?

4.  Any other suggestions?

THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!! :-)

Hi Soc, perhaps you'll remember I'm the one with the X-Boyfriend that took me to court in May 05 to have removed from his house.  I thought all was well but now the harrassment begins :-(

On Monday, Aug 8th I was alerted (by a friend) that there was a personal ad placed on Yahoo Personals using my photograph and stating some rather not so nice UNTRUE things about the type of person I am.  I DID NOT place this ad and I suspect that the X-Boyfriend did due to seeing me out with someone else.  According to Yahoo's Terms of Service agreement, if an individual violates the TOS by placing a false ad to "defame" another, disclosure of that person's e-mail and IP address can be made after receiving a subpena for the information.

I have contacted Yahoo and asked that they remove the ad (of which they did do) and to investigate this situation.

1.  Do I have any legal recourse against the person who placed this ad?

I'm the one who's STBX BF took to court to have me thrown out of his house in MD.  Well here we are more than a month later and I'm still in the house...but only for another week!!! :-)

I close on my new home Monday and Moving date is scheduled for July 2nd!!!  What made him change his mind and let us stay???  I think it had to do with my DD.  He and I have been together since she was 11 months old, to her, he is "Daddy".  A couple days after the court incident, she went to him crying because she didn't "want to move away from him".  Ever since then he backed way off.

Anyhow, I just wanted to thank you again for all your help!!!

Hi SOC!!  Not to worry, this has NOTHING to do with the eviction....which btw, I'm still at the house :-)  My settlement date on my house is June 30th and I think he now realizes how drastic his life is going to change when we finally do leave...he's now trying for a reconciliation...AIN'T gonna happen!!

Anyhow...the State is MD and the CS I receive for my YD goes through CSE.  NCP had a wage withholding order but lost his job in Feb and I will assume that he hasn't returned to working because no CS has been paid since.  In April, CSE suspended his license and I just received a notice that he is to appear for a Show Cause hearing for Contempt on failure to pay CS.  It states that I do not have to appear.

1.  Should I go to the hearing?

2.  The amount he is in arrears is in the tune of over $11K, how much of that will he have to pay in order for them to drop the contempt hearing or to keep himself from going to jail?  (I believe he may have the money to pay it. This may sound mean....but his Wife was killed in an auto accident back in Oct 04 and he may have received a financial settlement....but I have no proof of this.)

This is what he filed...http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/forms/civil/dccv89.pdf

As you know, I can't afford an attorney...so would I file this form?
http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/forms/civil/dccv37.pdf

From the looks of it...it would probably cost me $190 to file the appeal, I can handle that and I may be able to line up a pro-bono attorney (still have to check on that) to help me out with this.  

1.  If I can't (find an attorney) then what happens once I file the appeal?  

2.  I believe they will set a court date of more than 5 but not more than 15 days from the date I filed the appeal?
I took this from the section you gave me....so it appears I have 10 days...not 5!! :-)
(ii) Either party shall have the right to appeal therefrom to the circuit court for the county within ten days from the judgment.  
   
 (iii) If the tenant appeals and files with the District Court an affidavit that the appeal is not taken for delay, and also a good and sufficient bond with one or more securities conditioned that the tenant will prosecute the appeal with effect and well and truly pay all rent in arrears and all costs in the case before the District Court and in the appellate court and all loss or damage which the landlord may suffer by reason of the tenant's holding over, including the value of the premises during the time the tenant shall so hold over, then the tenant or person in possession of said premises may retain possession thereof until the determination of said appeal.  
   (iv) The appellate court shall, upon application of either party, set a day for the hearing of the appeal, not less than five nor more than 15 days after the application, and notice for the order for a hearing shall be served on the opposite party or that party's counsel at least 5 days before the hearing.  
   (v) If the judgment of the District Court shall be in favor of the landlord, a warrant shall be issued by the appellate court to the sheriff, who shall proceed forthwith to execute the warrant.  
 
3.  I guess what I need to know is say the court says he has to give me 30 days notice...would that notice be dated back to the date I was first served or after the date of my appeal?
 
 
 

Hey Soc...me again,

I gave a lot of thought to your suggestion about asking questions about the purchase of the home....what do you think of these: (provided he answers truthfully...grr)

Questions to ask in court:

1.   Prior to buying this house, did we talk about purchasing a home together?
2.   Did you state that due to us being together that we could purchase a home for us?
3.   Did you state that you wanted to purchase a home for us?
4.   Did you and I actively seek out this home together?
5.   Did I help you find this home?
6.   Did you have reservations about this particular home (too far from work)?
7.   Did you state that you purchased this home because it was the home that I had wanted?
8.   When we first purchased this home, did you state that you could not have afforded to pay the mortgage and all utilities on your own?
9.   When we moved into this home, did you state that this was OUR home?
10.   Did you state that this home was as much mine as it was yours?
11.   Did we agree that you would pay the mortgage and I would pay for the utilities, food and other house hold items?
12.   Are the utilities current and paid to date?
13.   Did you remove my key to the mailbox from my key ring?
14.   Did you state that you had planned on changing the locks to the house?
15.   **Earlier you stated that this was OUR house, what has changed that circumstance?

*Edited to add additional questions

Hi Soc...me again :-)

State is MD and on Friday is the court date for the Wongful Detainment that my STBX BF filed on me.  I have been gathering my evidence and found an old AOL IM conversation we had about purchasing the house.  His side of the converstation states that "WE" would be buying the house.  I've also put together an outline of what I want to say to the judge.   Could I get your opinon on it?

Court Information:

1. Mr. D expressed to me the willingness to purchase a home for us and our family prior to the summer of 2002 (see AOL IM conversation).  In August of 2002 Mr. D and I actively sought out a home to purchase

2. When Mr. D and I purchased this house in October of 2002, I voiced my concerns that something of this nature could happen.  At that time, Mr. D assured me that this was "OUR" house for our family.  That he had no intensions of ever having me or my children removed from "our" home and that this house was just as much mine as it was his. Therefore it is my position that an oral partnership agreement exists between Mr. D and I, that the home is partnership property, and that I am entitled to remain in the home.

3.  For the past 2 plus years I have provided most of the cooking, cleaning and other domestic issues in the home and lived as if the home were indeed "My" home as our agreement states.

4.  We further agreed that he would pay the mortgage and I would pay the utilities; provide the food and the household supplies along with the domestic support (cooking, cleaning, etc).  I have canceled checks that show that the utility payments are current.  

5.  As a matter of fact, Mr. D on Tuesday, May 17th, handed me the current Electric bill that he had just retrieved from the mailbox.  I no longer have access to the mailbox because on May 8th, Mr. Daughton, unknowingly to me, removed my mailbox key from my set of keys.

6.  I was also under the impression that Mr. D and I had come to an agreement on Sunday, May 15th, that he would not have me forcibly removed from the home prior to me finding my own residence.

7.   I am actively seeking a new residence and I have been approved for a 502 Loan from the USDA Dept of Rural Housing (provide copies of approval).  This approval expires on 7/10/05 and only allows for a 60-day extension.  It is my intention to find a residence prior to the original expiration date.

8.   I respectfully ask the court to dismiss this action of Wrongful detainment due to our oral partnership agreement and request the time necessary to seek out my new residence.  

Again the state is Maryland and it's regarding my STBX BF trying to have me removed from the house....I was able to see the paperwork he filed with the court...it states "Forceable Entry".

1.  Can he use this to get me out?

2.  I never received any kind of written notice to leave, How could he get a "Forceable Entry" judgement without that?

3.  Can he use "Forceable Entry" when I've paid everything on time and to date??

4.  What do I need to do to defend myself against this?

Hi Soc...me again.

The State is Maryland.  I first posted about my STBX Boyfriend trying to Evict me and then about getting a protection order.  Things just went from bad to worse!!!  When I got home yesterday, he informed me that he went and filed at the court to have me kicked out.  He said that he still wants to work on things that he doesn't want our relationship to end...ugh.  Then to make matters worse....he took away my mail box key so now I can't get my mail.  AND THEN....he wakes me up at like 2 am wanting to have sex...I asked him what he was doing and he said...."Oh...since I went to the court I can't touch you now??  Y'know I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing...but with your actions (refusing to have sex with him), now I'm sure Im doing the right thing".  

1.  If he did go to court, would they issue an eviction warrent even though he never gave me written notice to vacate?

2.  What can I do about getting my mail?  He took the key without my knowledge.

3.  Do you have any idea how long this process takes?  I should find out today that I am approved for a home loan.  I am trying to buy a home, would a judge be able to give me more time based  on this?  I have 2 small children (8 and 5) at home, would a judge throw us on the street?  We have NO WHERE to go...other than a shelter :-(

Hi Soc,

I had posted earlier regarding my STBX Boyfriend trying to kick my children and I out of the house (post was entitled "Eviction").  The State is Maryland btw.  The verbal 30 days he gave us is up and now he is threatening to change the locks on the house and throw our stuff in the yard.  As we were talking last night he stated "If those were MY kids I would have murdered them by now...I would go to jail, it wouldn't matter because I could kill them...they just don't listen".

1.  Is this enough grounds to get a protective order?

Hi Soc,

The state is Maryland.  My X-BF and I have been living together for the past 4 years.  2 years ago he purchased the home we are living in now.  On April 4th he told me that he felt we should seperate and when I asked him how long he would give me to move out...he said to the end of the month.  I tried to find a place but with having 2 young children (5 & 8), both requiring child care (@ $800 a month), and rents over $1300 a month, there is no way I can afford it.  I found a program that will help low income individuals purchase a home but that is going to take at least 60 - 90 days.

My Questions:

1.  Can he just throw us out?

2.  Do standard Tennant/Landlord rules apply?

3.  If they don't apply, what actions would he have to take to get us out?

4.  If he decides to just start throwing our stuff out, what recourse do I have?

Thanks!!!

Hi Soc,

My custody order took place in Montgomery Co., MD back in Sept 1998.  I was given residential custody and the father and I share joint legal custody.  Father has been sending $275 a month mostly every month.  I am in the process of buying a house through a special program for low-income individuals and they needed a copy of my support order.  I call the attorney I had and he didn't have a copy of the order so I called the court clerk and according to her, there was NO support order filed.

1.  Do I have any recourse against my attorney?

2.  I did file a case through CSE, but received a notice from them that they were closing the case because it was "Not in the best interest of the child"..does this sound right?

3.  Any suggestions you could make?

Thanks!!!

One of my co-workers and her fiance' were going through a nasty custody battle with a totally insane BM.

This mother (and it's very difficult for me to call her that), married someone off the internet from a different state.  She thought she would marry this guy, pack up the kids and move in with him.  Told the kids they were moving and that this guy will be their new Daddy.  Needless to say that didn't sit well with the children's father so he filed to stop her!

That's when crap literally hit the fan!  This BM lost it completely, threatened that she was going to kill herself and the kids.  My co-worker being a mandatory reporter (police officer) of course reported that. Social Services got involved, a GAL was appointed and this case dragged on for over a year.  It would take days to go into all the weird and sick crap this BM pulled...the worst thing is that she would watch Porn with the kids in the room with her!!!

The final trial was this week and the judge was astonished at the crap that went on with this case!!  The BM somehow got a detective to smear my co-worker and now that detective is under an internal review.  It also appears that the BM has bilked the state for benefits she wasn't entitled to (Day care vouchers, food stamps, electrical assistance, etc) all with having over $34K in the bank!!!  She was caught several times on the stand in blatent LIES!!!  I guess the judge went off on her and she didn't say a word!!!

So the judge did the right thing and awarded my co-worker's Fiance' (CWF) with SOLE custody!!!  BM told the judge flat out that she's moving to the state with the new hubby so the judge ordered her to pay transportation...she's not going to be able to afford it because their are 3 kids involved all under the age of 7!!  Oh and get this...after the trial, she went up to CWF and said "I'll be coming up here to visit the children" so CWF said fine with him and then BM asked where should she stay and indicated that she wanted to stay with him.  CWF said NO WAY and told her that was her problem!!

Chalk another case up to what was in the best interest of the children!!!  CWF is a very DEVOTED father and has been since day one of the kids lives!!  I'm very happy for them!!!

Court upholds jury award in international custody battle

ANNAPOLIS (AP) — Maryland's highest court has upheld a $3 million dollar jury award in favor of an Anne Arundel County man whose two sons were illegally taken out of the country by his ex-wife and mother-in-law.

The Court of Appeals upheld Michael Shannon's right to seek civil damages and denied claims by Nermeen Khalifa Shannon and her mother, Afaf Khalifa, that the award was excessive.

The court opinion says the women knowingly deprived Shannon of the love and comfort of his two children.

The boys were taken to Egypt nearly seven years ago, when one was 4 and the other was less than a year old. They are believed to be living in Cairo.

I have a co-worker that is going through a huge custody mess that just keeps dragging on due to the Mother not complying with the orders and a court that in my opinion isn't taking this situation seriously!!

A bit of back ground:  The couple divorced in 06 and they have 3 children.  They have joint custody and the reason the custody suit came about (father wants full custody) is because of possible sexual abuse and the Mother wanting to move the children to FL.  All parties are currently in MD.

The father started suspecting sexual abuse because the younger children were exibiting sexual behavior more than that of just child curiosity.  He has since learned that the children have been exposed to pornographic movies that they have watched in the presence of their Mother.  The children often describe what takes place during those movies and have stated that the mother "rubs my pee pee" while watching them.

Social services has been called, a GAL has been assigned and is aware that this is taking place but NOTHING is being done!!!  There was a court date this past Monday which was continued because the mother hasn't complied with the order for mediation and to meet with the GAL.  The new court date is in May, yet the mother keeps telling the children they are moving at the end of the month.

We all know damn well that if the roles were reversed and the Mother suspected the father of this abuse, that the kids would be ripped out of there in a heartbeat and the father thrown in jail...so WHY is it dragging when the roles are reversed?

I suggested to my co-worker to stop playing around with the court and go to the news...these kids are being sexually abused and the courts don't seem to give a rats ass!!!

Is there anything else they can do to get this case moving along?  It's been going on for over a YEAR!!!