getting custody of my daughter

[jcgorman]

i;m in the process of trying to get custody of my 5 yr daughter ciara, from her mother who is using drugs an drinking all the time , when we will in front of the judge she said she didnt drink or do drugs but as soon as the hearing was over she was in the bar her soon to be ex husband saw her an she got pulled over that night she had my daughter in with her an not buckled up . we go in front of another judge on feb 9th we also have child services looking her to her homelife cuz my daughter is drawing pictures of crack pipes that her mother has hiding in her pocketbook also when we were in front of ther one judge he wrote into the custody papers that noone is top be drinking around ciara but her mother still does it, also we have her sister as witness to how she treats ciara also her soon to be ex husband is on our side to an will testify also her son who she treid to pawn ciara off on him to raise but not to let me know an she would split the child support with him do i have a good case??? or do i need a lawyer which i cant really afford can you help me ,a father at his wits end!

[mistoffolees]

While it's possible for someone to handle a case like this without an attorney, I would strongly suggest that you get an attorney - find the money somehow.

1. Handling it by yourself (pro se) requires a thorough understanding of the law. If you are willing to invest hundreds or thousands of hours learning the law and courtroom procedure, you might have a chance.
2. From your letter, you come across as someone who can not communicate well. You might be extremely intelligent, but if you can't communicate in a post on this board, you don't have a chance of communicating well in court when the pressure is on.

IF the facts you've presented are true and if you don't have any problems of your own to deal with, then you probably have a good case. Don't mess it up by trying to do it on your own. Is your daughter worth begging or borrowing the money (or getting a second job for a while) for an attorney if you can't afford one any other way?

[CustodyIQ]

Even if you need to go into debt to get an attorney to represent you and get a good outcome for your daughter, view it as an investment into her future.

Also consider that if you get greater custodial time, you won't pay as much child support, and that monthly amount can go to pay off debt owed to an attorney.  In the long run, you'll be financially ahead.

But the primary focus is doing what's best for your daughter.  If you don't know the law, and if you can't properly argue your case (and properly introduce evidence), you will lose.

And you don't get a "do over".

[mistoffolees]

>
>Even if you need to go into debt to get an attorney to
>represent you and get a good outcome for your daughter, view
>it as an investment into her future.
>
>Also consider that if you get custody, you won't pay child
>support, and that monthly amount can go to pay off debt owed
>to an attorney.  In the long run, you'll be financially
>ahead.
>

Please be careful. Your statement is wrong as written.

Legal custody status does not change the child support guidelines - at least in most states. For example, if the mother has physical custody, child support will be completely independent of whether it's sole legal custody or joint legal custody.

The PHYSICAL custody status can change the support calculations, but not always.

Child support and legal custody are, at least in principle, unrelated.

[CustodyIQ]

>Please be careful. Your statement is wrong as written.

Aaah, it was late at night when I wrote it.  I edited/corrected to clarify my point.

Thanks.