Child Custody Battle

I am not sure if you would win or not, but I cannot imagine a judge giving him full custody now. Why has he not filed for it before? Sounds like to me that he just filed so that he would not have to pay more child support. The judge should be able to see that and also she is going to be given to whichever parent will provide a more stable environment for her. If he is gone all the time then she will be free to do whatever she wants (is probably the reason she wants to go and live with him) with you she has rules. She needs rules so you are the best parent trust me one day she will thank you for them. Hang in there and best of luck.

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Unfortunately, at 14, the Court is going to let your daughter decide (he would have to be REALLY unfit). My best advice is to keep a good relationship with your daughter, so that when things don't go well at Dad's, she isn't afraid (or too angry) to come back home. Good luck.

You ex's son is 20 so he should be accepting responsilibity for his actions. Only so much of it can be your ex's fault. Children at 14 are very smart and that is why the court allows them to take part in this decision. You didn't list the reasons your daughter has requested to live with her father. If you don't know maybe a good heart to heart will get to the answer. If you don't let her go she will resent you and then you will have a very unruly teenager on your hands. You can stale the court by asking for a counselor to speak with your daughter to find out the reasoning for wanting to change. You don't want to pick the counselor - have the court appoint one so they will be unbiased. If you go in angry and resentful the court will side with your ex so keep your emotions in check. You can use a website on line to find a good family lawyer. www.lawyers.findlaw.com

Cary Walker is one of our friends that is an attorney. We've never had to use him professionally. He may be able to recommend a good family law attorney. He is a great guy and a Christian. His wife is a Judge in Fort Worth and she may know a great family law attorney. He was doing divorces and medical malpractice law. Cary Walker is in Fort Worth and I would ask to talk to him and who he could recommend.

We use Pre Paid Legal and have a whole law firm at our reach for questions and for information and it is a monthly service. I would highly recommend it. It is $25 a month and $10 for the legal shield (to help if you are a victim of Identity Theft), however you get your will, power of attorney, medical directives and other important legal paperwork (for emergency puposes, example if you die) as a part of your membership when you sign up. It is a peace of mind knowing we can pick up the phone and not have to worry about how we will pay for it to ask questions/get answers. You do get a discount on legsl services. It will save you some money in the long run. I use to be a sales associate with Pre-Paid Legal, we still have the great membership and it has saved us tons of money! I'm so thankful for Pre-Paid Legal!! If you would like more information on it, I'll be glad to give you my friends names/website that you can check out.

There is a law library that you can go and research more information on your case/child custody issues. The more informed you are, the more you can keep up on things. If you have the time and are able to go, that would be great also. If you can't afford an atty, most people go to the library to research the material themselves there. Good Luck!

I highly suggest you call either Mark Rosenfield ###-###-#### or James Loveless ###-###-####. Google both of their names and you can read about their certifications. I know people who have used them both and even if your daughter is 14, they may be able to help you and guide you in the right direction. Don't give up. Your daughter may see the freedom the 20 year old has and may think that would be better for her. Let the courts decide. Good luck!

L.,

I am not sure what the law is here...but I have sole custody of my son, my ex pays child support and he tried to take me back to court for custody. In GA, at 14 yrs old the child can make the decision who he/she wants to live with and by what the judge told me, that basically the child can live with whoever he/she desires whether they are a good parent or not. I still have custody of my son.

Just a thought, sorry you have to go through this. Hope everthing works out for the best.

A lot will depend on the judge, but unfortunately you may have some difficulty since she wants to live with him. The 20 year old son's issues probably won't count for a lot and really doesn't factor in a decision like this. Your husband playing softball isn't an issue at htis age, as they are old enough to be at home alone. The overnight out of town trips for work are more than likely going to be your best leverage, but unfortunately I wouldn't bank on that either. Realistically, most judges base a lot on the child's wishes at this age and your husband and his attorney will more than likely have a valid and convincing response to all of your objections. I would find a very good attorney and try not to focus on the 20 year old son's issues as he is an adult and makes his own decisions and it will only make you look like a vindictive ex-wife. I wish you much luck and remember to focus on the positive things that you can provide your child vs the negative things that you ex has out there. At the end of day, you don't want to alienate your daughter.

Unfortuntately what I say is mostly not going to be what you want to hear but as you said she's 14 and in Texas the child can have a say in where he/she wants to live. I did the same thing to my mom at the same age. I only stayed a year before going back to my moms though..Most of what you've said about the ex isn't the best situation for your daughter but none of it is putting her in harms way. Him being gone so much could actually be a factor in wh she wants to go there. Sounds to me like she'd have a lot more freedom if the father is gone a lot. That was the main reason I went to my dad's, I HATED my step-mother (she was abusive) but they both worked so my sis and I could do what we wanted a lot. If you do fight it I would being up the time he will be away just so the judge knows, and maybe they will require supervision for her at the least. The son probably won't account for much because he's an adult and would be held accountable for his own actions since he was 17.
We are about to finalize a step-parent adoption and used David Cole, he's based out of Dallas but we've never had to drive out there. Done everything via phone, email and snail mail. They have been absolutely wonderful!!