help

[cdyoung_29]

Patton-
Thx for the info-  but my current wife was a child support worker for DHR at one time...  she was also a child abuse/neglect worker later.  Since I have been current on support since 6/03-  I am NOT considered to be in contempt-  I WAS in contempt when I wasn't paying...  but as she never pursued it;  it is a lost option for her now.  

Yes I did have standard visitation-  but as I said;  I was completely unaware of where she was...  so it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to go anywhere-  she was living "somewhere" in S. Carolina.  I have a taped conversation where she admits this and says i should've contacted her family-  but her step-sis said she wasn't talking to them either...  so that didn't seem to be an option.  She admits that she didn't let me know where she was,  and says I could've found her if I wanted to do so.

I sent certified letters,  and the receipt was returned-  not the letters...  she read them-  and even called after the 1st one to laugh at me for trying to see my child.  I have this on tape as well.  The police reports are for visits I legally had,  and she wasn't there.  

It is the LAW in Alabama that CP's and NCP's MUST give a 45 day written notice of a move 60 miles or more away from the "home" county...OR ANYWHERE out of state.  It was signed into law in 4-03;  and was in effect as of 9-1-03...  It is retroactive.  The CP/NCP have 30 days to "protest" move and block it until court decides otherwise.  The presumption is that it is NOT in the child's best interest unless a court says so.  The parent can move-  but cannot take the child w/ them.  They have to prove financial betterment-  and since they moved away from ALL family and friends,  they weren't making any more money there and rent was higher,  and they didn't make it easy for me to see the child as ordered...  all of these facts prove it wasn't for the betterment of the child.  I have her on tape admitting contempt-  but saying that since she is the mother,  she can do what she wants and I can't stop her...  

Now I have a letter in her writing ( a copy,  so she has the original),  stating that she is refusing any visits on my part until a court tells her otherwise as I took child out of state for a visit that I was entitled to in court papers-  the child was returned 3 hours EARLY...  so no laws were broken.  In her letter she states that she wasn't allowed to talk to child and she wasn't told where we were.  However I have a coworker that can attest that she did speak to the child and a taped conversation from a later date admitting she spoke to her.  I also can provide cell phone records proving I spoke to SOMEONE at her # and for how long.  I can also subpoena HER phone records as she called the hotel where I was staying and spoke for a while then as well.

Legal aid only handles criminal cases-  if I had kept the child I could POSSIBLY have qualified as it would make it a criminal case and not civil.  I can only HOPE she isn't aware of this or she will be able (possibly) to get free legal help as she is now in contempt of the court order.  My wife's disability case won't be decided until a year from now-  and even though the lawyer is confident she will get it,  and it would pay any legal bills...and even though it would take a year for the case to be decided...  no lawyer is going to wait on such a thing.  So I am basically screwed on that front.

So basically I have ALL of my i's dotted and t's crossed-  and really there isn't much "hearsay" as I have tapes that can prove her lies and my attempts at visits,  etc...   And since she will lie-  and wrote a lie on paper... it will make at least those tapes admissable in court as they are the "proof" of her statements.  But it makes no difference what all I have done,  as I cannot afford to pay a lwayer $2500 or more up front to take care of the case.

[patton]

I'm not from your state so I can't say what an attorney or judge would do in that state, but since you have all the contempts lined up and in order with evidence this is what I would do.

If you do not have the $$ to pay an attorney and are confident of going Pro-se then it will not cost you that much to file a contempt or motion to modify or clarification of court order or whatever it is you are trying to do.

In this state it's about $28.00 to file....$50.00 to serve the other party with a legal server.  Court runs around $200.00 depending on how much time it takes to present all the evidence.  

Is ex in a position to hire an attorney?

[littlebit]

I am also in Alabama (Mobile / Baldwin county).

1.  What is "schedule A" that you refer to?  

2.  Unless your order specifies something different, the NCP is required to do all the transporting to and from visits.  The moves do not change that fact.

2.  You can get the courts to review your CS without attornys, and for little $ every 3 years.  If there is a change of circumstance, the court will review your CS as often as you are willing to pay for it.  So...go to the court clerk's office where your original CS / custody order was granted.  They will give you the necessary paperwork to get the ball rolling on that.

3.  You need to file an objection of her move-aways with the court YESTERDAY.  The new law you refer to allows you to voice your objection to the court, not necessarily the CP, and then the judge decides.  Your lack of action so far is considered acceptance of her moves, so do something ASAP.  Again, go to the court clerks office in the county of the original order.

4.  While your at the clerk's office, file for contempt.  And do that every time CP goes against your court order.

A bit of advice:  it's good to vent....But....when you are finished, get focused on a plan and put it into action.  Sounds like you don't have a lot of "hard" evidence to make a case, But you do have a lot of information that you can turn into evidence if you act on it.  RE: bi-polar history, contempt of court, instability, PAS, etc.

[cdyoung_29]

Actually the Alabama law now states that if the CP moves more than 45 miles ( I think this is the correct distance)-  they must bring the child to you.
 
ScheduleA is the "standard visitation rights" afforded most NCP's from DHR in Alabama.( Every other weekend beginning w/ the 1st wkend following the child's 6th b'day,the month of July,et cetera).

I cannot file about the moves because she would never notify me until after the move...  so I couldn't keep her from going when she was already gone...  but I can now use it to prove instability and "flight risk" to get custody.

I have already requested that DHR modify CS as they are now required to review and modify CS for NCP and CP requests when there is a change in circumstance...  but they haven't even contacted me to verify they got the request.  I provided them all of the proof and even had the exact amount of CS I would now owe in the letter as well.  My wife was a CS worker at one time and still "knows" people-  so she got it all figured out for me and sent the info on to that county.

I have to go to Morgan County to file contempt and I live and work in Montgomery County.  I also (evidently) must have a Morgan County lawyer as nobody will do it from here.  I had a chance when she was in Georgia,  but now that she is back (for however long that may be) I am (yet again) screwed.

I do not have the experience to represent myself in court and I feel I would become too emotional and possibly hurt my case-  so even if I could come up w/ court costs...  I don't know how I would ever afford a lawyer.  I make $9/hr,  I pay $81/wk (over a yr this ends up at $350/mo) in CS,  and I have a wife (now unable to work due to her own health issues from complicated birth-  or unable for at least the next yr) and a 7 month old baby that was 10 wks preemie and cannot be in any kind of "multi-child setting" as she is a preemie and has kidney reflux and is minimally devlopmentally delayed (as she was preemie and she is getting better- but SOMEBODY has to be in our house with her and cannot go to any kind of daycare)... so my income is the only income...  wife has been told by her atty that she will get her disability,  but will be another yr until it is settled in court.  So I know I must file contempt-  but I don't know what all forms and fees are required and once we go to court I will have to get a lawyer.  So how do I work this?  That is my question.

Also,  how do I get her social security records for court-  I know I would need to subpoena it-  but that means I have to have a court date set for a change in custody...  and I would need a lawyer for that -  I wouldn't even know where to begin on filing a subpoena on my own...  I am afraid I will "miss" something.  I can't get a paralegal to help-  they can do many things but these particular cases they cannot help with....  not even just help filling out the necessary paperwork as it is considered "practicing without a license".  Legal aid won't help as it's not a criminal case against me...  and nobody will do anything pro bono,  nor will they wait for payment until wife gets back pmts from social security.

I would LOVE to "take action" and get some things done-  but I don't know how to do it,  especially given the financial circumstances.  I am trying to get the "plan of attack" down so that when I go to court I don't get screwed even worse than I already am,  and so I can keep the costs as minimal as poss....  and hopefully I will have enough info to have to do this 10 billion times (I know-  wishful thinking!!).  I don't have any family that can or will help with the finances...  I don't own anything except the 7 yr old car that gets me to and from work and gets the rest of the family to & fro Dr appts.  I am looking for another job-  but the current job has alraedy made it plain they will fire someone just for thinking about getting another job...  so if I don't actually wind up at another place-  that could bite me in the butt as well.

I just feel like I am " up the creek" so to speak and there's no land in site to swim to right now.  I don't understand what i am supposed to do next.  How do I file contempt... I have been told it involves several diff "papers" and I don't know what all they are or what they should say.  I acn't "act" when I don't know the ropes.  I had hoped that there would be someone in one of these groups that would know,  and therefore be able to help me do it,  too.

[LizaLou1]

My attorney from Morgan County.  He got the job done!

Joseph W. Propst II. Firm: Joseph W. Propst II. Address: PO Box 1049 Decatur, AL.
Phone: (256) 350-5557. Fax: (256) 353-7759.

LizaLou