I won custody....

[John-J-Jay]

I again won custody of my daughter. her mother walked away when she was two and now she's 11, the court found i was the better parent and naturally the one who has raised my child. it was a battle that lasted 21 months and i spent close to $80,000 in the end i won. i want to say to all the dads stay involved in your kids lives, no matter if you have custody or not. The children of today's society needs us to be involved. Fight for your rights, your time and whatever it takes to do right.

[Fueledbyjava]

Congatulations. That definitely gives me some hope.

[Giggles]

Hey...was the BM ordered to pay support?  What about atty's fees?

[John-J-Jay]

yes she has to pay me ongoing child support and back support. But no she doesn't have to pay attorney fees which sucks. I think the system needs to be fixed so if a person counter sues and its in bad faith they should have to eat ALL atty fees.

[Giggles]

and I couldn't agree more.  She was the one who caused your Atty's fees to skyrocket, she should have to pay!!

[John-J-Jay]

i just think dads need to fight for every right they have. It takes 50 dad and 50 mom to make a baby. so just becuase the so called "mother" wants a divorce why should the dad be behind the 8 ball on just getting his justifed time with the child? it's BS the system sucks and congress or the legislature needs to fix it.  Dads are very important to the success of the child and developing them as adults so why do they screw the dads over in the courts in most cases? Because they can and the stigma thats attached to us.

Women wanted equal rights in the military and work force they got it. why can't dads have equal rights in the family courts???

Dads FIGHT for your rights and don't let these so called judges ruin your relationship with your kids......

[jamesryan]

i completely agree, my wife is trying to make it as difficult as possible for me to see my children. we havent started the divorce yet, but i can already tell she is going to try and cut me out of the picture. she tells my sons i dont love them and i dont want to see them, but all that happens when i do visit , is she starts trying to fight with me which throw me off from wanting to come down there at all

[John-J-Jay]

hang in there and always see them. it will come to bite her in the rear one day. but do what's best for the kids no matter what.

[Giggles]

BTW I'm a CP MOM but I (among very few) realize the utmost importance my kids Dad is in thier life!!

My YD didn't meet her father until she was 6 years old. He walked out before she was even born and even told the court he didn't want anything to do with her.  Very sad day for me.  I still kept in contact with HIS parents and they adore their grandchild, she would spend weekends with them and really got to know HIS side of the family.  When HIS father passed away, that's when he saw his daughter for the first time (she was 6).  He came to me, apologized for being an idiot and told me that our daughter was the most beautiful little girl he's ever seen.  He asked if he could establish a relationship with her and I was THRILLED!!!  Now my YD spends a couple weekends a month with her Dad and every time he wants to see her, I tell him...come get her!!  That was 3 years ago and they have a wonderful relationship now...and I couldn't be happier!!!

[janM]

You didn't "win" custody...you retained it. As you should. As everyone here told you you would.

Congrats!

ps...my 4 grandkids are being raised by their (2) dads. Way to go.