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Don't do it pro se. You will get crucified by the St. Louis courts. The only chance you had for a decent and fair judge (Frawley) just stepped down from the bench to pursue other interests. He is being replaced by a Black woman judge. The other judges I know little about, but pro se is not looked upon very favorably. There are some very good attorneys in our area. I have had 5 different attorneys over the past 7 years, so I know alot about them. Let me know and I can steer you to a good firm. By the way, I won my relocation case with a local attorney from Carmody MacDonald. We won over Husch-Eppenberger, which is the largest firm in the state.

Don't use Cordell and Cordell, they are a joke and full of cr-p. Father friendly attorney my a--.

Razor

Gee, I can't believe I don't have more replies! I guess not alot of guys have gone to trial and then on to appeal. I'll look up the caselaw and let everyone know.

DON'T SETTLE!

Razor

Hey! Chill out! I believe EVERY state has a procedure that MUST be followed to move a minor out of the state. She CANNOT legally move children without prior notification and going through the legal process. By law she must file a motion to relocate, then YOU file a counter motion seeking to stop the relocation. You NEED a good lawyer now who has not just defended against a relocation, but has actually WON a relocation. But, apparently that is water under the bridge now...you need the attorney to file a contempt motion, and you need to alert CPS and let them know that your children were kidnapped.

Get an attorney, but make sure to ask him/her the question "How many times have you won a case for a man?" The WILL try to weasel out of this by saying "oh, many times"...say "I mean not settling. I mean in trial. I mean how many times has a man you defended gotten custody of the kids?" Don't let them weasel out. Most of them have NEVER won a case for a man. They will all try to scare you and say you CANNOT win, that you should settle.

NEVER, NEVER SETTLE unless you are sure it is in your favor. If you don't get custody, or shared parenting, or 50-50 DO NOT SETTLE. Then the ex wins FOREVER.


Dude, she has done you a favor! By just packing up and leaving without going through the process she has totally hosed herself in the upcoming custody battle.

It took me a year of fighting and about $30,000 in legal fees, but I WON. I kept the b---h from moving my son to NC from Missouri. I now have custody of him. If you or anyone else needs advice on legal issues IN GENERAL I would be more than happy to help. I am not an attorney, but I have been divorced several times and in the courtroom about 70 times or so. I know all about the attorneys and all the little games. I know what you can win and what you should not even hope to win. Pick your battles man...pick your battles.

razor

We had the trial, then they had an opportunity to file a motion to modify judgement.  The judge ignored the issues they brought up: 1) Judgement in general was incorrect, 2) Because both petitioner and respondent had the same parenting plan, that mother should get half of all trans costs flying child back and forth, and 3) Because father stated that he would in said parenting plan, that mother would get spring break and most of summer with child.

The judge did not address any of this issues, but did tighten up the wording for splitting summer.  Its like he read our parenting plans and just ignored them.

So, now they are appealing the exact same things.  I wonder, if the judge has full option to use or not use any parenting plan he sees fit, why they are appealing.  I have not seen their brief yet, but I am curious if they mention weight of evidence as a reason to overturn...(the fact that my attorney said we WOULD do all of that if we won.

Also, I have been through the ropes for 7 years or so, three divorces, two trials, several attorneys, and hve been in court about 60 times.  I could be used as a reference for anyone who needs advice.  Plus, I WON!!!

Don't use Cordell and Cordell, they are a joke!  And, the administrator of this site should ban C&C from advertising with the site.

by the way, her attorney is now working for the FATHER FRIENDLY attorneys of Cordell and Cordell...what a bunch of hypocrites! They are a joke anyway, and have a horrible reputation among other attorneys in the St Louis metro area...

razor

I won residential custody and educational custody from my 7-year-olds mother when she unsuccessfully attempted to move to North Carolina from Missouri. It was a lengthy trial, and I simply told the truth and made sure that I was always in his life. Now he lives with me 98% of the time when he is not flying alone to see his mom every other weekend. She has appealed the trial courts judgement. The main facts of this are:

We outlined a final parenting plan that I saw the day before the trial, after already receiving the parenting plan from her attorney. We sent ours to her attorney and funny thing, the next morning before trial they show up with a new one EXACTLY like ours in regard to three things, I said I would give her all summer except for last two weeks, I said she could have spring break, and I said I would pay for 1/2 of all transportation. Well, I had no idea she would exploit the judges decision..."...on those occasions where she chooses to exercise custody in NC..." to flying him down there every other weekend. So, they have appealed based upon the weight of the evidence being that we both agreed to this parenting plan that was submitted, as the judge made his own parenting plan and totally ignored ours. My attorney said wee submitted more than I was actually willing to do because we wanted to look good to the judge.

The question is: Are judges forced to use submitted parenting plans, or do they have discretion to ignore them and make their own??

Her attorney filed a motion to modify the judgement on these facts and the judge did not even address it, he just said nothing was changing.

Do they really have a case to appeal this? Or are they simply hoping and wishing?

razor