My husband and I would like to get custody of my stepson (his 6 year old son). My husband and my stepson's mother were never married and soon after he was born, he settled on joint management conservatorship. He didn't try to get custody because so many told him that in Texas-mothers will always prevail.
My husband and I have been together for nearly 5 years. We met when my stepson was 15 months. We dated for 2 years before we got engaged and we waited another 2 years before we married. Now we have been married for nearly 1 year. We try our best to provide a stable environment for my stepson because we feel children deserve stability and consistency.
In the past 5 years, my stepson's mother has moved him 9 times and has lived with 5 different men. Only 3 of the 9 times did she actually tell us she moved. The other times we have found out on our own. We pay her $750 a month in child support and we cover medical, life insurance, and costs when we have him.
Here is our issue. We feel that she makes bad choices. Recently she got pregnant from a guy whom she only dated less than a month. She then married him the following month and we have found out from my stepson that they have moved to a new home together. None of which she has shared with us.
My husband and I visited with an attorney and we requested that she attend mediation with us in lieu of a costly court battle. She refused. Said that we can take her to court and if we do, she will try to get more child support from us. Our lawyer requires a VERY large retainer, $5000 and an additional $10,000 to be put in trust. We want to proceed so that my stepson can have more stability with us, but we fear going that far in to debt and losing the court battle. The economy has taken a toll on both my job and my husband's and we simply do not have $15,000 in spare cash. We keep hearing that TX is a mother's state and we fear that the system will not be gender blind.
What do we do? We want the best for my stepson....we want to try for him.....but I am scared.
My husband and I have been together for nearly 5 years. We met when my stepson was 15 months. We dated for 2 years before we got engaged and we waited another 2 years before we married. Now we have been married for nearly 1 year. We try our best to provide a stable environment for my stepson because we feel children deserve stability and consistency.
In the past 5 years, my stepson's mother has moved him 9 times and has lived with 5 different men. Only 3 of the 9 times did she actually tell us she moved. The other times we have found out on our own. We pay her $750 a month in child support and we cover medical, life insurance, and costs when we have him.
Here is our issue. We feel that she makes bad choices. Recently she got pregnant from a guy whom she only dated less than a month. She then married him the following month and we have found out from my stepson that they have moved to a new home together. None of which she has shared with us.
My husband and I visited with an attorney and we requested that she attend mediation with us in lieu of a costly court battle. She refused. Said that we can take her to court and if we do, she will try to get more child support from us. Our lawyer requires a VERY large retainer, $5000 and an additional $10,000 to be put in trust. We want to proceed so that my stepson can have more stability with us, but we fear going that far in to debt and losing the court battle. The economy has taken a toll on both my job and my husband's and we simply do not have $15,000 in spare cash. We keep hearing that TX is a mother's state and we fear that the system will not be gender blind.
What do we do? We want the best for my stepson....we want to try for him.....but I am scared.