Guidance, Please...

[Lyrael924]

Dear Soc-

I am the NC father, residing in Illinois, of a 9-year-old boy residing in Pennsylvania with his custodial mother. The exact text of our court order relating to spring break is as follows:

"9. Each school spring vacation with the child from the time school is finished on the day before the break until 6:00 p.m. the evening before school recommences."

The portion of the order relating to transportation is as follows:

"14. Transportation. Petitioner [me] shall be responsible for all transportation arrangements and expenses related to the above parenting time. If any of the visits involve transporting the child by air, airline tickets shall be round trip, purchased in advance. Petitioner shall arrange for escorts or other accompanying adults for Son until the child is old enough to travel alone. If the child travels by air Respondent shall be responsible for transportation of Son to and from the airport on Respondent's end of the trip."

I sent the letter notifying her of dates and times of pickup and the addresses - I sent them certified, return receipt requested. I received this e-mail in response:

In accordance with the court orders NAME REDACTED may pick up CHILD NAME for Spring break visitation at 3:30pm on Sunday, April 9th '06 the day before  CHILD's break starts at the time school would be let out.  CHILD may be picked up at the address as follows:

141 STREET NAME REDACTED
Blythewood, SC 29016

The NAME REDACTED family is considering a move of residance to Blythewood, SC. I am notifying Mr. NAME REDACTED of the posibility earily so there is no confusion. Due to the distance from Decatur, IL to Blythewood, SC NAME REDACTED will need to arange for AIR transportation from IL to SC. Columbia, SC has the nearest major airport and in accordance with the court orders I, NAME REDACTED, will arange for CHILD's transportation to and from  the airport.

CHILD will need to be returned to his parents, NAMES REDACTED, April 16 '06 by 6:00 pm to be ready for school the following day. CHILD may be droped off at:

251 w STREET NAME REDACTED
king of prussia, PA 19406

I, NAME REDACTED, will notify the front gate and security so Mr. NAME REDACTED may gain enterance on that day.

Thank you,



I talked to son last week about using a portable DVD player on the trip. I then received a return call from the mother saying that she did not believe CHILD should travel in the car (even though they are NOT flying down to South Carolina), so I let her know I would get a hotel and only do half of the trip each day (about 4-5 hours, not counting food and bathroom stops).

I also sent her this e-mail as a follow up to the call:
NAME REDACTED,
      I appreciate your willingness to work with me on the subject of parenting time. If you go to mapquest.com you can look and see that the distance from my address in Decatur, IL to the address you gave in Blythewood, SC is only 10 miles more than the distance from Decatur to your residence in PA. I realize that you are concerned about Sonbeing in a vehicle for an extended period of time, and to compensate for that I plan on getting a hotel midway. So my picking Son up at the address in South Carolina instead of Pennsylvania doesn't make much difference at all.  I researched your suggestion that I use airtravel to cut down on the transit time, and found that the majority of available flights are well over 10 hours due to layovers and plane changes, and if you add in travel time from Decatur to the various airports, flying would save no time whatsoever. I also realize that Son is going to have to travel to south Carolina at some point before I come to pick him up there, and if you are driving, thats rated as over a ten hour trip. I dont know when you are planning on doing that travel, but I am still willing to pick him up on friday in Pennsylvania, if that would save him 10 hours of car travel to South Carolina.
      Obviously we see the wording in the order for parenting time as meaning different things, most notably where it states on line 23 of page 2, item 9. "Each school spring vacation with the child from the time school is finished on the day before the break until 6:00 p.m. the evening before school recommences." I understand that portion of the order to mean that my parenting time with Son would begin on friday the 7th of April this year, as I stated in my previous letter to you. You disagree with that as you stated in your email to me, which follows at the end of this email, that I could pick up CHILD on sunday the 9th of April. I am not trying to be difficult about any of this, but it seems to me that I should file a motion for clarification on the matter of when my parenting time is to commence for the spring break and thanksgiving portions, as these are the only times that share the wording that is in dispute.
     In accordance with the order I need a copy of Sons school records and his medical and dental records. I see no reason why you couldnt pack these in with his belongings for the trip. As far as what he will be needing for the trip, please send a heavy coat and light jacket, as the weather is constantly changing here. Please send any medication he may be on as well.

I'd also like to know what Son is normally allowed for snacks and such. If there are any specific meals that you would prefer for us to add to the planned menu, please let me know as well. We have planned for his dietary needs, and will ensure that he will get plenty of vegetarian meals. I am planning on having Son email you pictures of anything interesting he wants to send to you, as often as he wants.

CHILD can call you anytime he wants, and I have no problem with you calling him, but to avoid missing us, we should agree on a good time for you to call. Since we are an hour behind you, his bedtime will be 10:30 your time.
     Please let me know where and when I can pick Son up.
                                                           
                                                                            ~Me



This is the latest e-mail I received:


Upon your suggestion I looked on Mapquest.com  at the distance  between  Decatur,  IL,  Blythewood,  SC  and King of Prussia, PA. I had no idea that the distance between them were so far away. In light of the new information I believe it would be best for Son if AIR transportation were arranged to and from both destinations. That kind of time in a car would be unhealthy and emotionally difficult for a child of Son's age.

I understand it can be expensive for this kind of travel so to cut costs you may want to think about renting a car and driving yourself to the airport where Son will be. That way it will save you money on hotel rooms. A credit card that offers Air millage may also be helpful. Thats how our family is able to travel long distances.

As to when you can pick CHILD up, the 9th will still be fine as in accordance with the orders. Please email me with your and CHILD's flight information so I can have his records available for you when you come to pick Son up for visitation.

~NAME REDACTED

I just wanted to check with you - the reason I wanted to drive to pick him up is that I do not trust her to put him on a plane to come visit me. But honestly, I am pretty much screwed here, right? I just need to suck it up and do what she says, right?



[/me]

[socrateaser]

>I just wanted to check with you - the reason I wanted to drive
>to pick him up is that I do not trust her to put him on a
>plane to come visit me. But honestly, I am pretty much screwed
>here, right? I just need to suck it up and do what she says,
>right?

Are you the Petitioner or the Respondent?