PRO SE LITIGANT IN NEED OF HELP REFORMATTED

[Doodlebug]

Dear soc:

I apologize for the jumble and hope this is better>

Court date coming up March 3 and have some question regarding court order and filing another motion.  

Brief history:  Motion for contempt filed due to ex stopping all contact with children Sept 2002.  Visits prior to that were every other weekend, alternating holidays and school vacations and when he needed a babysitter to take his own vacations.

Visits were stopped completely with no reason as to why.  Have been going it alone as I do not have funds for attorney, legal aid, low fee and fla bar etc. do not handle cases such as these.

divorce decree doesn't have specific visitation ordered.  Just states liberal visitation as the parties may agree.  Schedule we had has worked well in the past until new gf showed up and all contact stopped.  

Son was seeing a therapist due to problems with separation anxiety.  Son would get upset during phone calls because he missed me and at the time ex and old gf were having problems and they split.  Emotional upset was blamed on me not the fact that son was trying to express how he felt.

therapist suggested that a speakerphone be used as ex stated to therapist that i was upsetting son.  Ex has not continued therapy for son in approx 2 1/2 years and speakerphone is still being used, but was not previously court ordered.  Just advised by therapist.  

children are prompted what to say and what not to say and everyone else who is there and hears conversation jumps in. Ex and gf also try to argue with me during my time on the phone with kids.  Kids talk freely when ex and gf are not there and don't want to talk when they are.

Motion for contempt filed by myself and included in motion were requests for previous visitation of every other week and make up visitation for the 14 months that were lost.  Request to include 2 visits per month in addition to the 28 make up visits until the court has made a determination in this case.  all to run consecutively.

Alos requested the court to order a specific written visitation schedule.  Contact with Respondent or paramour at least 2 times per week regarding health welfare and well being of the children to include progress reports pertaining to medical educational and extra curricular activities.  

Also requested Respondent to pay all costs and expenses.

Cross Motion filed by ex's attorney for supervised visitation and guardian ad litem.  

court order is as follows:

1.  Petitioner's motion for contempt will be treated as motion for enforcement granted only to the extent that supervised visitation and telephone contact shall be ordered.

2.  court will reserve on the issue of make up visitation

3. Telephone contact shall be allowed provided that the respondent shall be privy to all conversations between mother and minor children through the use of a speakerphone or by the use of an extension phone.

Questions:

1,  Since a motion to modify original order is being brought, can i also file a motion to modify telephone contact to have a private conversation with my children without the use of a speaker phone?

2.  Can I also request that children return my phone messages as they are not being returned when i leave a message?  Basically can I request to have all concerns with phone calls modified or clarified?

3.  If I can make a motion for modification and clarification, do i file in the same manner as the contempt was filed?

4.    Does the motion for enforcement being granted only to the the extent of supervised visits and phone contact mean that all else filed for in my motion for contempt have been ignored or are unimportant and this is all that there is?

5.  What does it mean exactly for the court to reserve on the issue of make up visitation and how does it get brought back about?

6.  How do I get the rest of the issues in my original motion to be reconsidered by the judge?

I am searching desperately for an attorney and i know i definitely need on.  Again I apologize for the length and hope that you can answer some of my concerns as idiotic as they may seem.

Sincerely,
Lisa D

[socrateaser]

>1.  Petitioner's motion for contempt will be treated as motion
>for enforcement granted only to the extent that supervised
>visitation and telephone contact shall be ordered.
>
>2.  court will reserve on the issue of make up visitation
>
>3. Telephone contact shall be allowed provided that the
>respondent shall be privy to all conversations between mother
>and minor children through the use of a speakerphone or by the
>use of an extension phone.
>
>Questions:
>
>1,  Since a motion to modify original order is being brought,
>can i also file a motion to modify telephone contact to have a
>private conversation with my children without the use of a
>speaker phone?

You ask for this as part of the modifications. You don't need a separate motion, but you do need to ask for it specifically.

>
>2.  Can I also request that children return my phone messages
>as they are not being returned when i leave a message?
>Basically can I request to have all concerns with phone calls
>modified or clarified?

You can, but as a practical matter, there's no easy way to enforce this.

>
>3.  If I can make a motion for modification and clarification,
>do i file in the same manner as the contempt was filed?

Motion to modify requires showing of substantial change in circumstances affecting child's best interests. You present no facts to support such a change -- until you do, your motions to modify will be dismissed.

I would ask the court for a finding of facts and conclusions of law on its rationale for reducing your contempt motion to one of enforcement, and further to explain why it is creating such oppressive visitation requirements.

Frankly, it seems that there must be some facts that you are not disclosing that is leading the court to make such a lopsided custody/visitation order. You don't need to tell me the facts, but without hearing both sides of the matter, I can't give rational advice.

If no such facts exist and you are simply being beaten up by a judge because you don't have an attorney, then I strongly suggest you get one, because otherwise you will just keep getting wacked.

>
>4.    Does the motion for enforcement being granted only to
>the the extent of supervised visits and phone contact mean
>that all else filed for in my motion for contempt have been
>ignored or are unimportant and this is all that there is?
>

See #3 above.

>5.  What does it mean exactly for the court to reserve on the
>issue of make up visitation and how does it get brought back
>about?

See #3 above.

>
>6.  How do I get the rest of the issues in my original motion
>to be reconsidered by the judge?

See #3 above.