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Just a little background on our story. Dad gained custody of 15 year and 17 year old a month ago. Mother is really mad and is vowing to regain custody of 15 year old. The 17 year old will graduate this summer.

Mother's big reason for being involved with the 15 year old right now is to get her to go live with her the next school year. The bigger reason is she is not getting a sizeable support check anymore.

The court battle took alot out of Dad and he does not want to go through another court case. The previous court case took place in Ohio but all parties now live in Fl. If the mother gets custody of the daughter this summer, will Fl laws be applicable to this case.

Will the child support mod be based on Fl laws? In court the mother said that she doesn't work and takes care of an ailing man and in return he takes care of her. She lives with him. She may marry him soon. So the court used her income  and Dad' income from 2001 when the divorce happened to calculate current support. If she uses the excuse that she doesn't work and has no income, will the Fl courts base child support mod on Dad's present income and hers as $0.00. Will they use anything from Ohio?

Thanks again for your advice and help.

Just wanted to update you on Dad's custody case of 15 and 17 year old. Dad got legal custody of both kids today. Thanks for your advice. I passed it on to Dad's lawyer who used your suggestions.

This was a difficult process for all of us. The road ahead will not be easy as the mother has already begun the campaign to get everything reversed. But despite all of that it is still a major victory for the kids and Dad. Again thanks so much.

Dad got temporary custody of 15 and 17 year olds. Mother never showed up for pretrial. She asked and was granted 3 continuances prior to pretrial.

Since the ruling about 10 days ago the mother has been overly interested in spending time with 15 year old girl. Never asks to spend time to with 17 year old boy. She took her on a shopping spree last weekend and now wants her to spend the weekend with her. This is the first time she has spent an overnight with her in 7 months. The final hearing is on 01/22/07. How will this be viewed in court?

Just wanted to update you on Dad's case. 2 kids have been living with Dad since July. Mother has little contact with kids but did want to give up custody.


Dad had a pre-trial hearing for custody of 2 kids. Mother did not show up. She had 4 continuances from 10/06- 01/07. Magistrate gave Dad temporary custody of kids. This was a victory for Dad who for a while wasn't sure what to make of the continuances given to Mother. Magistrate set final hearing for approximately 3 weeks from today. Is there anything Dad can do to prepare for the hearing?

Thanks for your help.

Mom left kids with dad on July 10th. Daughter and son 15 and 17. Mom has custody. Dad hired an attorney to get custody, support mod. Kids have been living with dad since 07/10/2006. Mom has not come to see kids during this time.

Pretrial hearing has been scheduled 3 times because the mother always has an excuse. Should a pretrial hearing take 3 to 4 months to schedule?

Dad would like to seek temporary custody in the meantime. How does he go about doing this? He feels that Mom is biding her time and will come and get the kids at end of the school term on 12/22. Next hearing is scheduled for 01/03/07. This of course would mean she will have the kids when and if she shows up for the hearing.  Both kids do not want to live with her and have told her so. Kids would probably have to change schools in the middle of the school year if Mom takes them.

All of your help is appreciated. Thanks.

Mother lives in OH. Dad lives in Fl. They have 2 kids aged 15 and 17. Mom has legal and residential custody. Dad got kids for summer. Mother also came to vacation in Fl. with new boyfriend for 5 weeks. Mom did not want to see kids during the time she was in Fl. Dad asked her to change custody and she said fine. She signed for them to enroll in high school in Fl. She has made no changes legally with the court.

Dad hired attorney is Sept. for change of custody, modification of child support, and wage withhold stopped. Mom conveniently had an emergency on the pretrial date in Oct. New pretrial date set for Dec. We know she will have another emergency on that day. We know she wants to prolong this until son turns 18 in Feb. Son doesn't get along with new boyfriend. We know she actually only wants daughter to live with her and boyfriend. Any suggestions for us in this situation? Thanks.

I have been reading this website for about 2 years now and have gained a lot of knowledge and insight about what parents go through.

Our story begins with a dad who has 3 kids. After 10 years his ex found someone new and wanted a divorce. Divorce is finalized. Dad was convinced not to go to go court because that would "mess" things up for Mom. Yes I can hear all the gasps from you. This is one very trusting guy. Dad was not well schooled in family law. Mom told him they have shared parenting. He believed her. He never saw the divorce papers until 3 years later when he was about to get remarried.

He then realized that he that he owed thousands for back child support. He had the kids most of the time all those years and loved it. Mom loved it too because she didn't have any parental responsibility and lots of time for friends and partying.

New ordeal began for him. In order for him to take care of his home, kids, and child support he had to move to get a better paying job. This was the hardest thing for him to do. This is a dad who gave his kids a bath every night. Read them a story every night. Made them breakfast and lunch everyday. Made sure their homework was done. Helped them study for a test. His days started at 5:30 a.m. and ended about 9:00 p.m.

The kids wanted to move with him but weren't allowed to.

He finally got enough money to get a lawyer and asked for custody change. After 5 months of agony and continuaces, he was granted custody of the 2 minor children. He is so happy. His kids are in a stable home with a parent who is a parent everyday. His responsiblity is 24 hours. He loves it. It hasn't all been easy. The mother is mad. She misses her support check. She may take him to court again.  She uses every opportunity to insult him. But Dad is happy to have his children with him everyday. He does encourage his kids to have a relationship with their mother. He knows that children need a relationship with both parents.

Just wanted to say that for any parent who is trying to do the best for their children and want custody of them, there is hope. It seems to be harder for men than women but still there is hope. Even if you don't get custody, you will know that did all you could. It is still worth it even if you get your heart broken in a million pieces. Your children will someday understand that you did all you could.

Ignorance of family law can hurt you as much as a vengeful ex. Please learn all you can and don't rely on your lawyer to do it all for you. Don't pester or be disrespectful to your lawyer. You will be amazed how much they will listen when you treat them as professionals. Your case is not the most important to him. Your case is the most important to you.

Dad now can understand why some fathers give up when they have been beaten down. But his advice is whatever the outcome is always do the best you can for your kids even when it takes so much out of you.

Best wishes as you parent your children.