Legal Question in Family Law in Iowa

Follow up to a question asked earlier this week, as more information has been gained.

Backstory:

My husband has full legal custody of his 8 year old daughter. The biological mother has had methamphetamine addiction problems in the past, and has been through rehab a few times. In 2005, she signed over all custody, and has never been required to pay any child support. The modification of the divorce decree says that she "shall be granted reasonable visitation that is appropriate for the health and safety of the minor child at [my husband's] discretion which [he] should not abuse. In the event the parties are unable to work out appropriate visitation by agreement then [she] will be allowed to seek modification of this order."

We have given her the standard "every other weekend" visitation since then. Over the last few years, we've had several issues about pickup times, etc, that I won't get into right now.

In the past week she has asked my husband for a copy of the daughters Social Security card, which she said she needed for "housing." This raised a red flag for us, as we don't think she has a right to be using that number for herself. A few days later, we got a letter from our school district, saying our daughter is eligible for free lunches, due to our family's participation in food assistance programs. My husband and I do not receive these benefits, and this is the second year in a row we've gotten this notification and declined it.

In the past there have been times where the mother has taken the daughter to the hospital, and we've never received anything from our insurance, leading us to believe she's claiming Medicaid benefits for herself and the child, whom we provide insurance for. She's also indicated to us that she can get the daughter free/cheaper glasses, which we've not taken advantage of.

We recently learned that last month, she was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, criminal mischief in the 4th degree, and interference with official acts.

Given her drug history, and apparent welfare fraud, what recourse do we have for our daughter's well-being? Should we be contacting our lawyer again?


Asked on 8/14/09, 5:55 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

Yes.

Read more
Answered on 8/14/09, 6:16 pm


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