my x and i have joint custoty and he wont give them to me on my days he barly lets me see them i have a legal paper that states i get them on those days but he wont follow the rules what should i do if i dont have money for a lawyer??
2007-03-26 17:24:21 · 7 answers · asked by chantel 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
You shouldn't need lawyer. If you have the legal documents stating your rights to joint custody with the days you are supposed to have them listed, you should just call the police. They will review the documents,and then the state should press charges against him for violation of a court order.
2007-03-26 17:29:09 · answer #1 · answered by Raising6Ducklings! 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My sister went through this for a couple years after her divorce, so I understand the agony you must be going through. Follow these steps:
1. Everytime it is your scheduled visit and he refuses to let you have the kids, call the police. They will make a report that he has refused. You will have to pay a small fee for a copy of the report. Put them in a safe place. You will need them later.
2. After you have several of these reports, contact the agency that determined custody in the first place. If it was through a divorce, call your attorney and get a copy of your file. If it was through family services, contact your caseworker. Let them know what is going on.
3. Contact a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, contact your local legal aid agency. There usually is one in each county.
4. If you were divorced, it could be as simple as one hearing before a judge. The judge will look at the paperwork (including the police reports) and could hold your ex in contempt of court. If you were never married, but custody has been ordered through the courts, you will need to go before the judge and ask that he enforce the judgement. Either way it basically works the same.
5. Whatever you do, DONT give up. don't let him bully you. Always take a friend with you when attempting to pick up the kids...AND pleeeeaase do not fight with him in front of the kids.
Most guys will get scared after one visit from a police officer, and start complying. Otherwise, definately call legal aid. If you don't know how to reach them, try calling the circuit clerk's office of your local county government, they are usually very helpful... and they know just about everything.
2007-03-26 17:39:06 · answer #2 · answered by Jes 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your going to have to go through the courts. There is no way around that. Horrible, but true. My husbands ex wife has done the same thing to him and we got told to get a lawyer.
You might try legal aid, or find an attorney that does pro-bono cases.
If you have joint custody however, wouldn't you have acess to the kids every other week, meaning can't you pick them up at school if it is your week to have them?
By the way, it is very unlikely that the police would do anything even if you called them. Most police dept. that I have spoken to, consider visitation issues to be a civil matter and they won 't get involved in them. I asked a friend of my brothers once, who is a cop, why that is and he said that it is because you never know why a parent is refussing the other parent visitation (i.e.: sexual abuse, neglect, etc.) and they don't want to be responsible for forcing, lets say, a woman to let her ex take her daughter and then come to find out the guy is a child molester and rapes his little girl and the mom was just trying to stop it. I don't know if that is the reason other police dept wont get involved but that is the reason why my local one wont. In fact most police dept wont. We have tried that ourselves and it got my husband nowhere with his ex.
2007-03-27 00:48:57 · answer #3 · answered by LittleMermaid 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The police seems to me the best way to go. Is he willing to sit down and talk to you like an adult or does he always play chicldish games like this when it comes to the babies? I would try to find out what his problem is and why he was acting like that.
2007-03-26 17:33:39 · answer #4 · answered by canthavethis_78 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If he's not following the documents then call the police. They can get him for contempt of court.
2007-03-26 17:33:35 · answer #5 · answered by Bryan & Brandon's Mom 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
if you have hte papers and you show up at his door and he refuses call the police thay will force him to give you your visitation
2007-03-26 17:34:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
consult doctor
2007-03-26 17:33:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋