What would you do????? Child custody issue.......?

Question

I have physical custody of my two daughters. My ex gets them every other weekend. It is his weekend and he told me last night that he isn't going to bring them back until he d*** well feels like it. We have been divorced for 3 years and the whole time he has made threats and he constantly harasses me - calling me names and yelling at me - you name it.
Anyway - he refuses to talk to me about his visitation and will not agree to bringing them back until he feels like it. I
I called my attorney and the local sheriffs office and they told me there is nothing that they can do... that I would have to take him back to court.
And that if I refuse him his visition and we go to court that it will make me look bad.....
So what the h***????? He can just kidnap my kids and not bring them back and there is nothing I can do???
So do I let him take them and take it as an empty threat????
Or do I keep them from him until he can fix his behavior and let him take me back to court?????????

I live in WY. We have a very specific custody order in place that says I drop them off to him at 6pm on Fri and he brings them back to me at 6 pm on Sunday. Why do we even have it and why did I go thru 3 years of divorce hell and pay thousands of dollars to my attorney if no one is going to enforce this custody order. As far as the threats and harassment and abusive behavoir towards me - well I can take it - it sucks but what I worry about is if he is going to treat me that way what is to stop him from treating my girls the same way if he feels like it.
Is there some way I can get the judge to get him to go to counseling or something??? Anger mgmt maybe???
Thanks everyone!!!

Answer 1

You need to keep a record of his behavior. Each time he violates the custody agreement, write it down. You will need to present that record when you go to court.

It isn't true that the police and sheriff can do nothing. They just don't like to get involved in these sorts of disputes -- especially when it's a matter of hours and the children are not at risk.

If keeps them too long, though, it's a parental abduction and they will get involved.

Without knowing which state you live in, it's difficult to be more specific.

Answer 2

Hun, first of all you need a better attorney. Secondly, the police will not do anything about it, unless the courts say they have to.
Go down and talk to your local DA's office, and explain that your ex has kidnapped your children, will not abide by the custody court order, and will not allow you to see them. And, then if the DA tells you there is nothing they can do, tell them, thank you, you were just closing every avenue before bringing forth a law suit against the city for aiding a Federal Kidnapper.
This will get them right on it. Believe me, been there, done that!
Don't be emotional, be strong, and they won't mess with you. They mess with the wishy washy ones because they know that they can push those cases aside without reprocutions. However, the strong ones are fighters, and will make them look bad.
Write the judge who handled the custody case, and tell him what is going on, and that the police, and local DA will not help you. Most judges don't like their rulings being ignored, and politely phrase yourself somewhere in the letter as a voting citizen, that always gets there attention. Ya know, Dear your honor, My name is bla, bla, and I am a good law abiding voter that has encountered a difficult situation. You know something like that.
I hope some of this helps, and after you get your kids back request to the judge that only supervised visitation be allowed, until the children are deemed old enough to protect themselves from such acts against them. I know the system tells you that you can do it without a lawyer, but there is allot you can do to get more than just your lawyer doing there job. If all of this fails, go to your local paper, and tell them how the police and city a protecting a kidnapper, which is a Federal offense.
Write your mayor, and threaten to sue their office if he doesn't make the police, and DA's office up hold the law.
Don't you dare believe them when they tell you there is nothing you can do. There is plenty, they just don't want you to know about it. You also might want to have the judge add in a clause in the custody papers that says that if your ex does this again, he will be allowed no visitation, and you have the right to leave the city, and or state without notifying him.
Don't let him know that you are doing all of this, he appartently has a better lawyer than you. Let it him, like it hit you when he told he was not bring the kids back.

Answer 3

First of all what state are you in?

I am a Florida attorney. This answer is not intended to create an attorney client relationship and is intended as general advice only.

In Florida, there is a parental kidnapping statute. Many other states have similar laws. If he holds the kids longer than 24 hours then he has broken the parental kidnapping statute and the local police would have jurisdiction to arrest him.

Is the order specific as to time of pick up and return? (i.e. 9:00 PM Sunday night, for example) If he is consistently bringing the kids back outside of the order. Then you can file a motion to show cause why he should not be held in contempt of court. Record the time, date, and content of the conversations and the time and date of the pick up and return.

There are additional lawyers. Get a better one.

Check with a lawyer about recording conversations in your state. In Florida, such action is illegal and inadmissible in court.

Dont refuse parenting time - then you look bad. But whack him yourself according to what I told you above.

Answer 4

Where the hell do you live? Where I live, it was decreed that I was to have my kids from Friday evening until Sunday evening, every other weekend. If I had refused to bring them home at that time, I would have had the local authorities hauling me into jail for kidnapping and comtempt of court.
I would make it an oridinary thing to start taping all of his calls, when he calls, say hey, I'm taping this. Either he quits making threats against you and the kids or you have him on record as doing so. If you can get him on tape threatening you with the kids, then I would talk to a lawyer about your options. Maybe supervised visistation, or set times and days, with the understanding that he gets to bunk at the local pokey if he doesn't play according you your rules.
First of all, call your lawyer...and get it set up to take his butt back to court. Otherwise, you never know what he'll do, since there obiviously isn't any kind of punishment that he seems to have to face for continuing to threaten you.

Answer 5

I'm surprised that your attorney told you that.I mean what do they expect you to do?I thought that the father had to abide by the courts on their visitations.I mean it sounds like he has issues and the threats that he's making to you is rediculous.Do they expect you to keep letting him threaten you?I know that sometimes the sheriffs department cannot force a court order.They say that's when you have to file a contempt of court on him but that could take forever.Maybe you should call another attorney and see what they tell you and see if there is anything else you can do.I would though start recording my conversations with him so you have proof that he is making threats and that your worried about the welfare of your girls.

Answer 6

In ur court papers when is he suppose to bring them back?? if their anything similar to mine its Sunday at 6pm.. dont sweat it till Sunday at 6pm. At 7pm id be standing right outside of "HIS" house on my cell phone with my divorce papers in hand calling the police, show them the court documents showing u have custody and get your kids. Unless u dont have any documentation proving you have legal custody i cant see how the police wouldnt help get your children back. More then likely if your standing right outside his door when the cops show up, he'll be intimidated enough to hand them over quietly.. after he's proven that he cant be trusted to bring the children home on time (and id ask the police officer to write some kind of report as proof of this happening) then u can show just cause to the courts that theres a problem ..

Good luck and dont let him scare u..

Answer 7

If you have a court order that says you have physical custody and he does not bring them back then you have every right to get the law and courts involved. But it is a whole different story if custody is joint! But if you decide to let him take your girls know that he is their father and that they are in good hands! He's just probably pissed cause your gonna have the weekend to your self!

Answer 8

UGH! What a psycho. My husband is always threatening me that if I leave him he will get custody of our daughter. Scares the crap out of me. I have no job. We share tons of bills. I worry that because I would have to live with my mom etc.. that he would win custody. Guess what i'm doing. Going to school. Just finished a class that will get me employed making more then him. I'm going to stay here for a few months pay off some bills save up some money and leave his sorry a$$. He's incredibly abusive.

Answer 9

u should definitely go bac 2 court. i know the thought is dreadful but u can't just let him have his way. if he was doing everything right in the first place you wouldnt have had custody anyway so its his fault. how bad could u look in court....he's the kidnapper/threatener/stalker/maniac. i am 17 years old and i have been through the same thing. my dad took me from my mom but i lived with her after that. i now live with him. i wish i was here. i wish i was there. its so hard sometimes. have a discussion with the kids during court time. c what they want.

Answer 10

God love ya... get waiting. The custody and baby help element is previous ridiculous. she would be in a place to get custody, you will get another weekend and consistent with threat one in one day in the process the week for visitation, and this could in basic terms happen as quickly as they're no longer toddlers, via fact curiously toddlers can in basic terms be with the mummy in any respect circumstances. and you're able to be able to to boot get used to paying baby help considering is the way it will be. The regulation sees you as a weekend babysitter with a checkbook and that's approximately all. there have been for years father's rights communities who're attempting to get the default custody order to 50/50 between the mummy and dad. they look making progression slowly, yet you're nonetheless going to adventure a brilliant number of the injustice featuring the present rules. in short there is extremely little if something which you're able to do approximately it. She has each and all of the ability, she could have each and all of the money, and you will discover that maximum human beings think of it could be that way via fact they have never skilled it first hand. reliable luck with each and every thing. desire i ought to help greater.