FIred my lawyer on my own now

[ricky48]

my ex filed for modifcation of custody based on ages of our 2 oldest 17 &18 our youngest is 11. Iknow there is no custody with 18 yo.   The judge granted the motion based on the ages of the children and ordered a custody investigation to be done. She wanted 50-50.My lawyer for whaterver insane reason agreed to go to trial without a custody investigation??? He did not even consult me about the decision. I was shocked when he told me we had a trial dat in two weeks. I made him file a motion for the judge to order a custody investigation. THe judge only granted an order saying I had to take my two 17 yo and 11 yo to the custody office to be interviewed. The investigator did not even know their names, had to introduce them, spent 5 minutes with my 17 you and 10 with 11 yo. They both said they did not watn 50-50  but agreed to spend more time with my ex. So then based on that the custody investigator came up with a plan that they spend one week and weekend with my ex a motnh plus an additional weekend. I feel that custody should not be changed since the boys were doing fine. We went through mediation and my ex did not budge at all. Said no to my idea of a Wednesday through Sunday visittation which is most like what we have now only extended two days. (my ex has every oother weekend which she agreeed to initially- no custody invetigation was ever done.
If we go to court I am on my own, I fired my lawyer, I can bring in witnesses to attest to the fact that my ex has not been invlolved with the kids and does not do homework with them on her weekends. What do you think my chances are, or will the judge just go with the custody investigators recommendation. If that is the case might not be worth it to take it to trial... Any input??

[socrateaser]

You need an expert witness on your side, otherwise you will lose. The 17 y olds should be able to speak for themselves, and I doubt that the court would go against their wishes, as it is impossible to keep them where they don't wish to live.

The 11 y o is the real issue. You should have a psychologist prepared to testify that the child is doing well with you and that there is not reason to grant additional custody at this time. Otherwise, you could have problems.