Custody Evaluation for Modification

[justme73]

since this medical issue went on so long and i was at a loss on how to get my ex to cooperate with the treatment i truly beleived our daughter needed, i asked her physicians how to deal with the situation. it was distressing to listen to her accounts of attacks at dads house or at school in his possessory period, etc... and not be able to help her.

both the allergist and her pediatrician could only suggest that the only way to really know, was to bring our daughter in for before/after doctor appointments. she would be examined on the last day of my possessory period (1 week) and then i would bring her back in a week later the day she returned from her father's house.

 there she was not receiving preventative medication and exposed to a multitude of allergens including but not limited to second-hand smoke, a pet rat, large indoor dog and 6 indoor cats, of which she tested highly allergic to all.

her father has admitted to having up to 11 indoor cats in the past year, the indoor dog, smoking (denies around her, but she told the doc that). the physician said 'what we want mr. x is to use some common sense here. since your daughter has tested positive to all of these elements, the logical thing to do is to reduce if not elimate her exposure to all of those things'

since then, on the child's account, they have taken in 2 new cats, a new puppy and though her father attempts to smoke outside, she says on cold days he smokes inside and just cracks the front door open or at times smokes on the front porch near her bedroom and because her window is open the smoke comes in her bedroom when she in bed. at those times it is too hot to close the window because he doesn't us the a/c.

that is his perogative, but he has also been educated on the fact that the a/c reduces humidity to an environment that dust mites cannot thrive... and she is very allergic to dust mites. all of this she volunteers, mind you... sometimes to my mother or my husband.

In conclusion asthma is consistently exaserbated subsequent to time spent in father's home.  and her physicians explain that when she does not receive the treatment as directed, preventative and emergency, that the attacks will increase in frequency and intensity, which has happened.

exposure to the allergens also has equal effects. they say that with every attack she could be causing permanent damage to her lungs in the form of scars, whereas the treatment plan recommended, if followed, could potentially reverse the effects of the asthma... healthy lungs.

i may seem obssessive, but this is not a rash (she has eczema too, and he doesn't treat that either) that would just make her uncomfortable or have a cosmetic effect.

we are talking about breathing.

questions:

1. i don't want to wait until trial for my expert witness to be used. i want the evaluator to hear what they have to say now. how do i go about that?

i know the pediatrician well enough that he offered to be a collateral contact for her to call, but i don't know the allergist or pulmonologist that well and they work for a very large pediatric clinic... difficult to get time for her to talk with them. i could try to get a letter.... what should the letter say to cover all the important areas pointing to the father's behavior?

thanks for your help. i have really reduced my complaints and been able to focus my case.

[socrateaser]

>questions:
>
>1. i don't want to wait until trial for my expert witness to
>be used. i want the evaluator to hear what they have to say
>now. how do i go about that?

You can subpoena the experts for deposition. They will demand expert witness fees. Every physician has a schedule of what they charge for a deposition/trial/report, etc. It will not be cheap (estimate $500+ per hour).

You could also authorize the evaluator to contact the physicians, but I can practically guarantee that they will refuse to discuss the matter without being paid (few people are as easy going as I am about providing their services for free).

>i know the pediatrician well enough that he offered to be a
>collateral contact for her to call, but i don't know the
>allergist or pulmonologist that well and they work for a very
>large pediatric clinic... difficult to get time for her to
>talk with them. i could try to get a letter.... what should
>the letter say to cover all the important areas pointing to
>the father's behavior?

If you can get the pediatrician to discuss the matter without charge, and the pulmonary or allergy docs to write letters discussing their findings, and you can do it at no charge, then you should be appointed U.N. Ambassador.

The doctors should simply describe the initial presentation/observation of the patient, complaints, if any, followed by the tests, diagnosis and prescribed course of treatment. They will know what to say...the trick is to get them to say it for little or no money.

[justme73]

hey Soc! the initial interview went GREAT! I really have a good feeling about her.

we received the court order to custody evaluation in january of this year... so as you can see, it has taken me a while to finally get with her, because i was experiencing pregnancy complications for a few months that led into pre-term labor and baby has not been well. my attorney wrote her a letter explaining the circumstances.

i thought that would hurt me, since i figured my ex had already met with her by now. it turns out he has not.

she told me that he hasn't even called her yet.

my question is:
what happens if i go to all of my appointments and she does our home study and completes our portion of the evaluation and he still has not even contacted her? do we have to wait around for him and let him drag this out?

[socrateaser]

>my question is:
>what happens if i go to all of my appointments and she does
>our home study and completes our portion of the evaluation and
>he still has not even contacted her? do we have to wait around
>for him and let him drag this out?

There is usually a time limit imposed by the orders, or a hearing set in advance. You have the deficet of having stalled first, so it will be hard to complain now if your opponent stalls. Nevertheless, I would ask your attorney to figure out how long the evaluator will require for your side of the coin, and then ask the court to set a hearing date now for shortly thereafter. That will force the other parent to get it done, or face going to court with no eval.

[justme73]

I have another procedure question.

now that we are planning to take depositions from expert witnesses (doctors) regarding our daughter's asthma condition, i wanted to know what normally follows?  meaning, does opposing counsel receive a copy of the deposition material? does opposing counsel also depose those expert witnesses in an attempt to cross-examine?

[socrateaser]

>I have another procedure question.
>
>now that we are planning to take depositions from expert
>witnesses (doctors) regarding our daughter's asthma condition,
>i wanted to know what normally follows?  meaning, does
>opposing counsel receive a copy of the deposition material?
>does opposing counsel also depose those expert witnesses in an
>attempt to cross-examine?

A deposition is an out-of-court witness examination transcribed by an certified court reporter. That means that all parties have the right to notice and opportunity to appear and protect their respective interests. This includes the right to cross examine the witnesses/documents. The transcription of the deposition may be later offerred to the court at trial as if the witness were actually present and testifying -- this includes copies of the documents as made by the court reporter. Anything not objected to at the depo, is admissible evidence, so attorneys will state their objections at the deposition, and then the witness will be required to answer the question anyway, and then at trial, the attorneys can argue the admissibility of the testimony/documents.