Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

My ex was arrested in November for Driving on a suspended license, possession of Marijuna less than 20 grams, possession of paraphanalia, 2 counts of possession of class VI scheduled substance, and tampering with evidence. 3 of these charges being third degree felonies. He is already a convicted first degree felon charged with assult and attempted robbery with a firearm. I have never withheld my 11 year old son from seeing his father before. But since these charges, I have not allowed him to go with him due to safety concerns nor does my son want to go with him. I do not normally share my ex legal matters with my son but due to the situation and safety concerns, I did this time. My ex had court in December and pleaded not guilty. He is set for pretrial at the end of January and then trial at the end of February. He called on Christmas to speak to my son. I advised my son that he called, my son did not want to speak to him. I expressed this to my ex kindly. My ex threatened to take me to court for custody. He has also stated that I am not allowing him to speak to his son. This is not the case. I have advised my son that he called, my son has made the choice not to speak to him and I feel that I should not force him. My ex has a court order to pay child support and he has not paid in 7 years. I have not pressed the issue to to money issues of my own and I did not want to upset my son by throwing his father in jail for contempt by not paying child support, last time I paid 15,000 in lawyer fees and got no where. I am still paying that off and still get no support. My ex also has no place to live and skips from house to house staying where he can till he wears out his welcome. My main concern is if I am going to get in trouble for withholding my son from seeing his father due to safety concerns and well being? I only want to do what is best for my son's safety but I do not want to get in trouble for this in the process as I have no criminal record what so ever. Please advise


Asked on 12/29/14, 6:05 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert McCall Law Office of Robert McCall

Review Florida statutes Chapter 61, persons convicted of 1st degree felonies get restricted custody and time sharing.

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Answered on 12/30/14, 5:10 am


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