Legal Question in Family Law in California
I am in a tough situation. currently I have full physical custody joint legal custody with my sons mother. She has had a dui, domestic violence charges, and openly admitted to using meth under oath. She claims to be clean for 5-6 months and feels that she deserves 50/50 physical. She is unemployed doesn't pay any of his medical + school expenses as outlined in the court order. I have spent upwards of 20k on atty fees and seems that the ex wants to go back again and again to financially drain me on atty fees. I can no longer afford my atty and being faced with having to represent myself. I have a very stable job, own a home and take him to all his doc appts and school along with doing homework daily. She has been unemployed for some time and still hasn't made but 2 phone call attempts to speak with him but does see him on they're scheduled time. recently noted that she hasn't even been the one to pick him up from school on her scheduled times but has her druggy boyfriend picking him up, I found this out from the owner of the school saying she is uncomfortable with him doing so. It was never brought up that she would add him to an alternate pick up list and or notify me of doing so(which is stated that a mutual agreement must be set prior to other parties picking him up) My son was admitted into the emergency room and his mother showed up an hour late the following day he was taken down to another hospital for further tests where the mother was notified at 7 am that we were going to the facility, she didnt respond till almost 3 in the afternoon. My son has physcial therapy for a prior medical issue and during her time of unemployment has not made 1 of the sessions showing that she wants to be involved with his therapy. Now she feels like she is a "fit" mother again and wants custody. She lives with her brother and niece and doesn't pay for rent and acquires her food from canned food drives and free services. She has lied on her documents that she has been paying rent at her brothers but recently came forth to my atty that she never payed any rent and was living free..... How do I go about keeping him in a stable home environment where I can provide all necesities food shelter love.
We live in close prox to his school and he has many friends who he plays with daily in which I am involved and our home is the house where all the kids play. I have him in team sports along with teaching him how to swim, ride bike, etc. I am the sole person who does his homework with him and am teaching him to read and write, math, science experiments etc. I am not the disneyland dad at all I take him places on special occasions, attend birthday parties, camping fishing etc.
His health is a major priority as being that he doesn't get nutritional foods at his moms because she doens't cook and feeds him canned or processed food. I involve my son with cooking dinner and always provide fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal where he often asks why he must eat them because he doesn't do so at "mom's house. I have had sole physical custody I have made sure that he has everything he needs physically, mentally, loving caring home.
How can I resolve this matter and keep him in a safe environment. anything would help...
1 Answer from Attorneys
This answer should not replace the legal advice you should seek in a private consultation with a skilled California family law attorney.
This case sounds like what the courts would refer to as a " high conflict child custody" matter. If you feel the court needs more information on what would be best for your child, then a child custody evauation would be appropriate. Part of the evaluation could be to assess mom's sobriety and if her substance abuse issues are affecting the saftey and well being of the child. Unfortuantely, unlike family court services, a child custody evaluation must be paid out of pocket. The cost of a qualified evaluation could run $6,000 on up.
If the evaluation determines that mom's home environment for the child is inappropriate and mom refuses to make changes to correct the situation, the court may change the visitation to restrict it for the protection of your son.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
