Calm before the Storm?

[melven75]

I have been divorced for 18 months.  A 18 month divorce preceded the finalization.  

My exwife and I have two children.  A 2 year old son and a 5 year old daughter.  I am now remarried, not with a woman I knew during or prior to the divorce.  My second wife and I are expecting a child any day and I also have a step daughter, 3 years old, that resides with us nearly 99 percent of the time.

Myself and my exwife get along fairly good when it comes to our two children.  I currently have joint legal and secondary physical custody of our two children.  I agreed to this during the divorce based on the fact I knew I could not provide a home I would deam acceptable to raise the loves of my life in.  

I am planning on going for joint physical custody within the next 3 to 6 months.  I have been documenting my parenting time for the past month.  I live within 5 minutes of our kids primary residence now, also the same school district.

The county I am located in seems to side with the mother more often than not.  I am wondering what type of approach I should take with filing a motion regarding custody.  Our children now have a whole new family they love to be around.  Including a step sister and soon to be half brother.

My exwife has had a new boyfriend for the past 9 months.  He does not live with her but would this be a angle that could work in my favor with the courts?

[socrateaser]

>My exwife has had a new boyfriend for the past 9 months.  He
>does not live with her but would this be a angle that could
>work in my favor with the courts?

A change in primary custody requires a clear and convincing change in circumstances affecting the child's best interests. This means that you must show how the child's life has clearly changed so as to require the court to reconsider the parenting arrangment. Nothing in your facts provides you with grounds for such a motion, and the fact that you may have previously agreed to something less favorable for personal reasons that are no longer relevant, is immaterial to your argument. Therefore your motion for a change in custody/parenting will almost certainly be denied.

Sorry.

[melven75]

>childs best interest

Thanks for the timely response.

I firmly believe it would be in my childrens best interest to have equal time with both familys.

Equal home stability and a siblings wouldn't make a difference in the courts eyes?  One of the siblings being "blood" and one step-sister.

I also have the luxury of my home being the primary place for child care when my exwife has to work.  Even when I leave for work it is agreed the children can stay with my wife until her work day is done.

Would these be any help?  Or should I just be grateful for what time I do have?  

[socrateaser]

>>childs best interest
>
>Thanks for the timely response.
>
>I firmly believe it would be in my childrens best interest to
>have equal time with both familys.
>
>Equal home stability and a siblings wouldn't make a difference
>in the courts eyes?  

No.

>One of the siblings being "blood" and one
>step-sister.
>
>I also have the luxury of my home being the primary place for
>child care when my exwife has to work.  Even when I leave for
>work it is agreed the children can stay with my wife until her
>work day is done.
>
>Would these be any help?  

No.

Or should I just be grateful for what time I do have?  

You "agreed" to a court order specifying custody and parenting, and now you want to have that order set aside in favor of something else, because your life has changed. The changes in your life are irrelevant to the court. What matters is how your children's lives have changed. If you cannot show clear and convincing objective evidence that your children's lives have negatively changed, such that only by granting you more parenting time, their lives will improve, then your motion to modify will be denied and that will end your case.

From my view, you're wasting your time.