Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

My 15 year old step daughter has been getting into trouble. She is failing her freshman year of high school and we caught her breaking into empty houses about the neighborhood and smoking marijuana. (The day after being caught, with mostly failing grades, he punishes her by taking her with him on a cruise that had her missing school.) Against the wishes of myself and my wife, her father has been allowing her to drive herself around the neighborhood by herself for the last year in his vehicle. She has been told that she's grounded from cell phone and internet and not to have it here and her father then buys her an android phone and sends her here with it after being told it is not allowed. He tells her and her 13 year old brother to ignore what I tell them, and to not tell their mother things. He makes more money than my wife and I do combined and while he occasionally kicks in a little child support (less than we spend on medical insurance alone), my wife was duped into signing papers waiving her rights to child support even though we maintain medical and dental insurance, and though he is supposed to pay out of pocket medical expenses, he does not. Also, his father (children's grandfather) is well off and is willing to fund any sort of legal response that he could to protect his deadbeat son at the expense of the children's welfare. What recourse do we have to have control within our own house, stop illegal activitied, protect the children, and get some financial aid without turning the child in for illegal activities and giving her a record and bankrupting the family with a legal battle there is no way we can afford when we're trying to pay for the care of the children?


Asked on 5/07/12, 8:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lucreita Becude Lucreita D. Becude, P.A.

First off "you can not waive your child support"! Secondly, get a lawyer and head for court. Have your previous pleadings modified to change the child support amount and visitation rights, get medical and dental insurance established and unpaid ins. expenses. Have a Guardian ad Litem appointed for the children - you may need this to establish supervised visitation - if this keeps up your child will be in jail and you my friend will be held responsible for his mis deeds .

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Answered on 5/08/12, 5:20 am


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