Need Advice

[JL.BEANY]

Custody is now joint. rotating every week, with the parents living approx. 200 miles apart. 

Per custody order, if mother does not move back to child's hometown, child will attend school with mother.  The father who lives in the child's hometown would have every other weekend and keep the child during all holiday time to maintain joint custody.  Mother signed a contract that she would move to the child's hometown after the first school year or father would have primary physical custody.  However, mother got divorced unexpectedly, is unemployed, and has 1 other younger child she is unable to maintain on her own and is now going to be moving another 50 miles further away, to be closer to her family in the middle of the school year.  Both parents want the child to have a very stable school environment,  so mother is going to let her daughter live with the father for the school year, but wants to maintain joint custody by keeping the child every other weekend and for all holiday time, just as Father requested.  Father doesn't like this arrangement.  Father originally wanted all breaks and holidays because he has weekends and holidays off work, and the only time his daughter gets to see the father's family (who live far away) is during holidays.  He wants to rotate holidays, and have some time off each year with his daughter.

If the mother agrees to this arrangement will she lose joint custody, and/or child support payments?
How would this scenario likely work out in court?

[MixedBag]

Geez....you never know what will happen with the courts.

If I'm reading this right, DAD doesn't want to do every other weekend and shared holidays because those are his only days off?

Put the shoe on the other foot and I think you'll find  your answer.

[Kitty C.]

I got a different perception, MB.  I took it that if the mother doesn't move back to HT, then custody reverts to father and mother gets the same visitation as what was ordered for ther father when the child lived with the mother.  And it seems rational to me....to a point.  Because I don't think any one parent should have ALL of the holiday time with the child, regardless of what the cusotdy arrangement is for the rest of the year.  Many holidays are family times and there should be an agreement on how to divide it between the parents so that the child is able to enjoy time with both sides of the family consistently.  JMO......

[MixedBag]

Yea -- this one left me confused a bit too..

Per ORDER it's one thing.

Per CONTRACT signed later it's another.

Family court doesn't enforce contracts and do contract law, only family court orders.

That concerns me in this situation.

[MomofTwo]

The subsequent contract means nothing. Whatever the original order is is what stands. If the order says Mom has physical custody, then Mom has physical custody.

I think it's always great for parents to put the child first, but it seems Dad wanted all holidays and weekends, yet despite Mom wanting to flip the situation and asking for the same thing, he doesn't want to bend.  Not fair.  The  contract means nothing unless ratified into a court order so Mom could pick the child up and have the child attend school where she is.

[JL.BEANY]

Yea -- this one left me confused a bit too..

Per ORDER it's one thing.

Per CONTRACT signed later it's another.

It's within the court order.