Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
My two children ages 13 and 14 sat down with me and stated they wanted to live me instead of their mother who is the primary residence. The main reason they expressed is neglect. Their mother has outright refused to care for them and buy them the things they need. My son explained that when he asks for clothes for school, etc; his mother tells him she doesn't have any money but he has witnessed her buying things for herself. Both children state they have witnessed their mother lie about where she is going to then sneak off and buy things for herself without the childrens knowledge. They named a long list of things but for the sake of being brief I won't mention them.
During our divorce which happened in 2005, she was charged with domestic violence. She forced her way into my apartment and assaulted me. I called police instead of retaliating and had her charged with domestic violence and filed a restraining order. She was ordered to take anger management classes. My attorney at the time stated a domestic violence charge disqualified her from gaining custody. For some reason, she still got custody. Several years later, the children disclosed to me that their oldest brother had been doing inappropriate sexual things with them. I recorded my children's saying this and reported it to the police. CPS came out and investigated and ordered that the oldest son could not be in the house with the children and my ex-wife was ordered to take some kind of family parenting classes. The son returned to the house but I do not know if this was authorized by CPS. The oldest son a year later was arrested for armed robbery and sent to Texas Juvenile Justice Department for a year or possibly longer, I'm not sure. It's a bad environment for my children and now they are pleading to come and live with me. Their mother is unstable, she moved from the house she was renting, possibly evicted to a two-bedroom apartment that currently houses 5 people. My daughter has told me she is sleeping in a walk-in closet in her mother's room. My ex-wife earns about 40K a year with an additional 14,000 in child support from me. She also had another child after we divorced, I don't know if she's receiving support from the father but I'm sure she is. Point being, she is not some poor mother struggling to make ends meet.
My first question is SHOULD SHE EVEN HAVE CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN. We were in court to have the child support order modified as she does routinely to ask for more child support, the mediator stated there was a report of family violence on file, when she realized it was AGAINST HER and not me, she tried to recant the statement. WHAT AREN'T THEY TELLING ME ABOUT THIS FAMILY VIOLENCE?
My second question is IF SHE AGREES TO ALLOW THE CHILDREN TO LIVE WITH ME, WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS? (Child Support, Change of Custody, etc;)
1 Answer from Attorneys
The children are over the age of 12 and they can talk to the judge in chambers. Their request is not binding on the judge. Most judges will appoint an attorney to meet with the kids and the parents and determine what needs to happen. Both parents pay for this attorney's time - starts at around $1,500 each.
You might try mediation. I do a lot of custody mediations. My price is $300 per side for 4 hours ($600 total).
If you just need someone to draft the paperwork and submit it to the court, call me. I do uncontested custody cases too.
www.familylaw4u.com
713-847-6000
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