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Hi Dr, how are you doing? I have a question about my 7 year old son and his emotional well being. I am currently the temporary custodial parent, since I had a pickup order in April of last year. My STBX had taken him 4000 miles away. She has since returned, and she continues to tell him she is going to take him away again. Is this healthy, I thought that you should not discuss these things with him. He asked me if he could tell her no, I told him yes, it is good to let people know your feelings, do not hide them. She had a fit. I told her she should not discuss these things with him, because it is not settled. She tells him how much money I make, when the next hearing is, etc. I am considering taking him to a child psychologist to make sure he is ok, sometimes he hides his feelings. I think this is because his mother has told him it is not right for him to be living with me. Thanks for your help. JT

Thanks Soc, now you scared me. She had been denied a request for Oral argument twice before. If the Appeals Court does not have the transcript from the 2 days of trial, how can they even hear arguments? My answer brief basically stated that she was only trying to re-argue the final hearing. This case took 3 judges and 2 years to complete due to her dismissing 2 lawyers, and then causing 2 judges to recuse themselves. Can I argue that the court cannot make a ruling without reviewing the final transcript? It appears that the courts bend over backwards for certain Pro Se litigants in FL. I have spent over 120k in lawyer fees and have no more credit cards to charge for a lawyer. If she has no grounds for the above 1,2, and 3. Can I just state that to the court during Oral argument? Thanks Soc, JT  

Socrates, happy holidays to you and yours!! My X filed an appeal last year(05) on the final order. She was unable to pay for the transcripts of the final hearing for the appeal court to review. Her Brief was 67 pages long, however it appeared to have no legal basis for appeal, and that was what I said in my answer brief. However, it appears that the Appeals court has requested Oral argument for February. Is this normal in FL, or should I be overly concerned? I do not have a lawyer, nor does she. My guess is that they want to ask her directly what she is appealing on a legal basis? Her Brief was a lot of false accusations, heresay, etc. etc. Thanks for your help, JT

Hi Soc, thanks for your help in advance. I have a final order signed in Sept 05 giving me primary custody. The X filed Appeal in October, she has not filed her brief yet, as she does not have money to get the transcripts ordered. So apparently she is going to try to get money from me.

Last week, she filed 3 motions in the lower tribunal. Motion for Attorney's fees, Motion for Temp Alimony and Motion to dismiss Child support order. There is a hearing scheduled for March 6th. She is only rehashing the same arguments made at final hearing. The only thing is that this is a new judge, as the judge that resided over final hearing/order has moved to criminal court.

Questions:

1)  Are any of these motions liable to be granted?

2)  Should I re-hire my attorney to attend this hearing?

3)  Can I request Attorney fees from her for this hearing?

Thanks Soc, JT

Thanks Soc, just to note the X is 'pro se' and is not a legal eagle, so to speak. She is not happy with the final order and has some psychiatric challenges that the Psychologist noted during the Custody eval. So, I will study up on the procedures for the Appeal and wait for the Brief to arrive. I will then 'answer' the brief and see what happens then. Does the court wait until it has both the brief and answer before deciding if the appeal has any merit? Thanks again, JT

Hi Soc, I hope you are doing well. We received a final order in Sept 05 from judge and X is appealling to 2nd DCA in Florida. I do not have any money for a lawyer, so I need to proceed 'pro se'. My last lawyer said that the final order was a good concrete order and should not be appealable.  Questions below.

1) Do you know where I can find more info on appeal process in Florida?

2) Should I worry about this much?

3) She has paid one month CS, but not the arrears, can she be held in contempt?

Thanks Soc, JT

I would not sweat it, it is all hearsay. If she has no proof it does not matter. Good Luck, JT

Sorry Soc, I'll reword my questions below.

 I currently have temp custody( since April 2003)  pending a court ordered Psych/Custody eval. The STBX has not cooperated and only went to one meeting with Psych, and will not return his phone calls. I have completed everything but home visit(next week). We are in Florida.

1) Should I file a motion to compel to make her finish eval?

2) Or will judge still use one-sided eval?

Thanks, and happy holidays!! Hope you get your candy!

Thanks, JT

Soc, thanks for your help. A question for you. I currently have temp custody pending a court ordered Psych/Custody eval. The STBX has not cooperated and only went to one meeting with Psych, and will not return his phone calls. I have completed everything but home visit(next week). Should I file a motion to compel to make her finish eval? Or will judge still use one-sided eval? Thanks, and happy holidays!! Hope you get your candy! Thanks, JT

So, Soc, I am currently going through the same scenario, excpet that I(the father) currently have status quo custody. The STBX wants to move 4000 miles away. Is the evaluator liable to let her take the child? Thanks, RFLO