Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

I am in a difficult situation and unsure what to do. I am from India and grew up here. I am a single mom and have been taking care of my mother and sister (mom is 67 years old and stopped working in her mid 50s as she claimed for medical disability based on symptoms at that time; sister is 43 years and is hearing impaired and has visual issues but otherwise able to function/ socialize/ walk/ argue etc and does not work outside either as my mom does not want her to do so because she has hearing impairment). Now, I have been taking care of them (wanted them to help at least by one of them, my sister for example, to work 2 hrs since they both stay at home and I work 60 hr weeks to care for my kids and them and then come home and do my home duties) since the day I graduated med school as my mom stopped going to work then. As a resident making peanuts, I gave half of every check to my mom and the other half to my now ex husband. It was not a choice. My nom said I had to take care of her as she was supposed to retire at her age and since my sister had impairments that I must care for her too. I did so as my mom has a very volatile temper AND ruins my image by calling anyone we know mutually especially to Indian people. I gad my son in 2005 and left my ex hubby the same year due to abuse. As soon as I returned to Tampa and my mom and sister and I started living together with my little boy, my mom resumed her position of control to replace my ex husband. I work outside day and night and must listen to their desires and if I disagree with anything as head of household supposedly, they blackmail me by saying they will stop helping at home AND not leave so that I am forced to do everything as well as take care of them without any kind of contribution from them. Years went by this way. As long as I work and listen to them they are ok. Problem is that my son is growing up and they try to involve him in appropriately in our adult issues now by telling him that they will leave and he will never see them again or that he will have to stay with a babysitter (telling him scary stories regarding outside child care and schools even -- he is doing online Pasco eschool for last 2 years due to his health issues and this was my mom's decision which I finally agreed to as the public schools here are not good). I just had a second baby through a Reproductive Clinic help and donor dad as my son has been praying for a sibling for years and I wanted a second child also. Since I am on maternity leave now without pay, they have become extremely emotionslly abusive. I just had surgery 2 weeks ago and needed blood transfusion. My mom and sis told the hospital that they would help after surgery but they leave almost daily for hours and return when they want to do so. Now I'm at home and see how much time they actually spend doing any home chores and it is only a few hrs and I watch the children daily during the day as well as much of the night. Anything I ask them to do, they again blackmail me knowing that I'm a single mom. I requested then to leave if they are unhappy (they constantly complain that they cook or do dishes or any other task they do in the family and feel they are doing me a favor although they fl to realize that they are able to stay home and enjoy their lives as I work daily into the night to give them a good life. They refuse to leave and the house is in my name. They refuse to help more than the $500 towards mortgage (I pay about $1000), and half the utilities whereas I paid off both of the cars my mom drove and drives, I pay for security/ lawn/ all vacations/ both my children/ take medical responsibilities for my mom as her doc is usually unavailable/ TV and computer payments/ etc etc. I am physically breaking down as overworked at work and home and am under constant emotional abuse and blackmail. I have had to work for my mom since I was 16 years old. I am 44 years but my mom feels she is still the head of the family and yells and fights and creates total discord in our family if I want to even know where she uses my bank card which she had for years until today (I am without pay now and need to budget so requested it back for a month as hoping to get AFLAC to help a little after one month). She has been calling friends speaking lies about me and disrespects me in front of my son. And today they said that they will not leave either. What are my rights? I have gone from the frying pan (my ex) to the fire as they are constantly emotionally abusing me and refusing to help fairly not to leave when I tell them if they so used then to let me be and leave. Can I sell my home if they refuse to leave it? Legally how can I give my children a good life without this kind of situation on a daily basis. My mom has always been this way and her brother and his family left her in past too as did her ex husband (he was abusive though). I am somewhat dependent on them also as I need to work full time to support the entire family but I want to work less and be there for my kids and cut back on costs and be a mom without my mom and sis interfering and controlling every aspect of my life and my kids' lives. It is unbelievable that this can happen, but in the Indian culture, there are parents who try to control even their adult children's lives by hook or by crook. I need to know what services can help me. I have huge bills (child's medical and house and med school loan and car and home maintenance and others for family) and as a primary care doc stack productivity based company, I don't make enough. I need to know how I can get health insurance covering pre-existing conditions for my kids and me, a job so I can spend 4 days with my kids so I can teach my son during day hours rather than the evening one I do now, and a balanced happy normal life for me. As an Indian woman, I am living in a prison on which my kids are my only sunlight and they are my life. I need some legal advice and help to break this cycle that many other Indian face quietly I'm sure. Please help me.

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Florida

Looking for something else?