question from New Jersey

[infoman]

Hi.  I moved out of the family home about 18 months ago.  Our divorce was final this past month.  Our temp orders had me paying the mortgage and child support.  Our final orders have me paying permanent alimony to my ex (slightly higher amount the first year to help her establish herself) and child support.  We have joint legal, with her being the parent of primary residence.

My ex advised me that the power was cut off today due to a back balance (current month bill is paid) created since I have moved out of the home.  She has asked me to keep the children overnight tonight, after my regular time with them, because of the lack of power.

1.   Is there anything that I can do to take advantage of this situation?

Thanks,

infoman

[socrateaser]

>1.   Is there anything that I can do to take advantage of this
>situation?

One incident of late payment does not create the sort of danger to the children that a court would likely recognize as "substantial." Continued similar problems could be an indication of mental illness, such as bi-polar or borderline personality disorder.

My advice is to just keep a log of the events and their specifics, and try to get some hard evidence, like a copy of the shut off notice.