Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

My ex is over 3,161 in the hole on child support. Since we got divorced he moved to Arkansas. He wants to take my sons to Arkansas but will not give me his address, like is stated in the court papers, so that I know where my children are in case he refuses to bring them back or an emergency happens. He wants to take them to a home that i know for a fact is unsanitary and his oldest son as been put in a mental hospital a couple of times for threatning to kill the whole family. He has two other children who lived in Arkansas with the grandaparents and he was recieving child support for them and not sending it to his parents. There have been several claims opened by CPS on those two kids in Arkansas. I found this out a couple of months ago after my divorce was final. I dont want my sons in any kind of danger. He hasnt seen them since June and before that it was February. He doesnt text to ask about them or call. My oldest is 5 and wants nothing to do with him and will probably scream and cry when he tries to take them away from me. Its in the papers that he is not supposed to smoke around them yet when he would take them to daycare they would smell of smoke. If he was still living here this wouldnt be a big issue. Im worried about my kids being in Arkansas with the un healthy environment and danger to my sons. Im not comfortable forcing my 5 yr old to go with him, since they havent seen him since June, and they havent seen his parents since almost a yr ago for a quick visit last Christmas. I dont have money to get a lawyer to be able to take legal action against him. I cant use free legal aid because he used them with his first divorce and they say its a conflist of interest.


Asked on 12/11/12, 5:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
TC Langford Langford Law Office

You have to go to court before he tries to pick up the kids. If you deny access that the order provides, then you are the one in contempt. You need an emergency hearing to stop the unrestricted, unsupervised visitation; while the case is pending. To do that you will have to prove all of the allegations you have listed. lt is not enough that the child does not want to go - you will have to prove the danger to the children. Either you have to go to the law library and figure this out, find the money to hire lawyer, or search out all of the legal clinics, law schools, churches, bar association agencies to find a lawyer. Good luck.

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Answered on 12/12/12, 4:27 am


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