Please give Advice

[eguerrero]

I pay child support for my 12 yr old son and 7 yr. old daughter, I have been denied visitation rights by their mother. I do not see them according to our contract through the Attorney General which is every other week and two weeks during the summer. I do not understand why my ex does this. My only other alternative is to seek legal guidance, which can cost alot of money. At this time I am buying my kids what they need for school. I pay my child support regularly. The only way I get to see my kids is because she drops the kids off at my father's house usually without any notice to anyone. I find out the kids are there because my sister calls and lets me know. She then complains that their mother drops them off unexpectedly. Any calls made to my ex usually are unanswered or she hangs up when she hears my voice. Recently, we lost my mother and since then my father's life has been in disaray and he has not been maintaining the house. Most of the house is under construction, (From when my mother was alive), some of the walls are not covered with sheetrock, electrical and plumbing are exposed, and there is NO kitchen. He has leaks in the ceiling through out the house, the sewage plumbing leaks, which causes an odor in the house. He has only one functional room in the house which was a living room converted to a bedroom. He sleeps there on his bed and the kids sleep on the floor. I bought the kids a playstation 2 and that is what they usually spend there time doing. They stay cooped up in that one room inside a four bedroom home becuse the rest of the house is basically unliveable. My father works about 12 hours a day with the same company I do. So he is very tired when he gets home. So I asked if I could come by and get the kids, he said if I did that he has to call their mother to verify it with her and that if she says no that if I try to pick them up he will call the police. She leaves the children there with very little clothes and sometimes dirty clothes and my father does not wash on a regular basis or shop for necessities. (ie: toilet paper, food, laundry soap, etc.) It sounds crazy but it is the truth!!! My ex has even gone as far as calling my current girlfriends parents complaining I do not love my kids. My girlfriends mother who has taken care of my kids  told her I do and reminded her that I pay my child support and try to see the kids. I have talked to the people at the Attorney Generals Office and they said that all they care about is whether or not I am paying my child support. I have even found my kids home alone at midnight awake in their apartment with no food, clothes scattered through out the house, liquor bottles my daughter pointed out on the floor and said that is what mommy and her friends drink. I called the police and by the time they came she had already came and picked up the kids. I called Child Protective Services and they said unless the kids tell a teacher there is nothing we can do. If you could have seen the look on my son's face when he thought his mother was going to jail, it broke my heart. He loves her very much and did not want to get her in trouble. My daughter on the other hand was so happy, she gathered her clothes and was ready to leave. There is so, so much more to this story, and I have no clue of what to do. I love my children and do not want to hurt them, but I know they are not being taken care of the way children should be. If I have to disown my whole family in order to give my children the life they deserve I will do it. I do not have much money other wise I would be in court in a heart beat!

[patton]

I'm in Texas.  I have tons of paperwork where I've filed contemtps.  but you must have legitmate documentation.  Your witnesses need to be someone neutral (not a relative).    You say she is denying you visitation what exactly does your court order say?  Do you have  set place to pick up the children?  I think I can help you out with the wording to file contempts, that's relatively simple.  And courts costs aren't too bad and you can ask for the fees in the paperwork if you want to file pro se.  But you have to have a SOLID case, or the Judge will laugh you out of court basically.  Does the ex have funds for an attorney?  And your right the AG is after the $$$ only!

And lastly what county in Texas are you in?  

[bfsone]

What do your court papers say about visitation?  That has to be followed by your ex regardless of what she wants or doesn't want.  You should just show up at the designated time you are to get the children which is normally from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 p.m. Sunday 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends.  Call a constable for enforcement of the visitation, she cannot refuse.  What county are you in?  What court where you in?  Do your court papers say mediation has to be done first before returning to court if the stated arrangements don't work out? CPS is a joke from my experience and they don't have to have the information from a teacher to investigate.  It sounds like your fathers place is also a danger w/the construction going on.