Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana
Modifying Joint 50/50 custody
My ex and I share joint 50/50 custody of our 4 year old son. I filed for a modification because my ex will not communicate with me about our son, he's let other parties take him to the doctor without consulting me, he's let others take care of him while he went out to the bar (we're supposed to follow first right of refusal) he never once has asked me if I would like our son, His friends have told me he's driven under the influence with our son and has been doing drugs (he passed a drug screen), our son comes to my house and says bad things to me like ''mommy i hate you'' and ''i don't have a mommy when i go to my dads'' I've been paying the insurance on our son and he's supposed to pay me half of the doctor bills..he has paid some but not all, neither of us pay child support, Anyway the GAL who interviewed us 1 time says I don't have grounds for modifying custody that all I have is he said/she said stuff and that won't hold up in court. She said I was waisting her and the judges time with this case. Isn't just the fact we cannot communicate grounds for modifying custody? Our son will be starting school next year and if we can't communicate about things it just won't work. Conferences could be missed, homework could go undone...
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Modifying Joint 50/50 custody
Unfortunately, you may not have grounds for modification. However, you do have grounds for a contempt if he is not paying bills and denying you the right of first refusal.
btw, if he is a credit card user for when he goes out to drink, you may be able to use subpoena power to confirm that he is out and drinking alot.