W
whitsmom
Guest
Hello again. I have posted twice to this forum but here is some background info about my ex who has nothing resembling a normal realtionship with our 10 year old daughter.
He was very abusive to me and I left him when my daughter was 3 1/2. He has spent a significant time in jail for various offences from domestice violence (5 times against me), high speed chase from cops, posession of cocaine, weapons charge, you name it.
I've been happily married for five years. He makes threats to me and my family (which we are documenting and recording.) He continually makes promises to my daughter that he doesn't keep (like a birthday and Christmas present this year that didn't happen...we live in adjoining counties in FLorida.) He doesn't have visitation orders...only asked to see her couple times a year at most, I stopped that in July 2000 when he threatened not to bring her home the next time he has her (I don't have sole custody yet...he wasn't really an issue before.) He was recently ordered to pay child support, which he has not begun to pay and is already 5 1/2 months behind in the current support and owes thousands in arrears. He has been on the fence about letting my husband adopt our daughter...we finally sent the consent form when he told me again he would sign it, and he sent it back with explitives all over it.
Now what is going on...he called last night to tell me that he was going to take me to court for contempt.
In April 1999, I took him to court to change my daughter's last name to mine (my married name.) My basis was that he hadn't seen her for 1 1/2 years, rarely called, payed no support, and refused to sign her birth certificate (didn't dispute the fact she is his child). The judge was pretty ticked off at him for his behavior to his child. He was there (from jail) to contest the change, but the judge allowed it. He told the judge he was going to sign her BC when he was being led out of the court room back to jail and get his "rights." During the course of the case, I told the judge I didn't want child support (under the circumstances of him not seeing her) and the judge told me, "It wouldn't be right to turn around now and sue him for support."
AFter that, he decided he needed to start injecting himself in her life...mostly to annoy me because I got the name change. This is when the 1-2 times a year visit began and his promise breaking to her started. I decided since the circumstances changed, I wanted support. If I have to put up with him bugging us now after all that time, I wanted him to pay support. I didn't think a name change "excused" him from support. I didn't sign anything saying I would never ask for support...only what was said between me and the judge, under those circumstances, that day in court.
Now he says he is going to get me on contempt for lying to the judge about support. I did take him to court in August 2000. ( I actually filed for support months before that, but the department of revenue couldn't serve him for almost a year...he dodged service.) He has paid none of the support. Support enforcement told me that if didn't matter what her name is, if he is her father, he pays. He never did sign her BC, the department of revenue added his name to it for him.
Questions: 1. Is he for real?? Isn't this case closed now? It has been almost 2 years.
2. Isn't there a limit to the amount of time you have in civil court to revisit a closed case to dispute it? I didn't have a lawyer/neither did he...I did the paperwork and represented myself.
3. If he does squeek this into court...was I wrong in suing him for support after he suddenly wanted to be involved after the name change? He says I will go to jail and after two years, the judge will change her name back. This will totally devestate her...she is already crushed about the adoption.
Sorry so long...as usual.
[Edited by whitsmom on 01-24-2001 at 08:36 AM]
He was very abusive to me and I left him when my daughter was 3 1/2. He has spent a significant time in jail for various offences from domestice violence (5 times against me), high speed chase from cops, posession of cocaine, weapons charge, you name it.
I've been happily married for five years. He makes threats to me and my family (which we are documenting and recording.) He continually makes promises to my daughter that he doesn't keep (like a birthday and Christmas present this year that didn't happen...we live in adjoining counties in FLorida.) He doesn't have visitation orders...only asked to see her couple times a year at most, I stopped that in July 2000 when he threatened not to bring her home the next time he has her (I don't have sole custody yet...he wasn't really an issue before.) He was recently ordered to pay child support, which he has not begun to pay and is already 5 1/2 months behind in the current support and owes thousands in arrears. He has been on the fence about letting my husband adopt our daughter...we finally sent the consent form when he told me again he would sign it, and he sent it back with explitives all over it.
Now what is going on...he called last night to tell me that he was going to take me to court for contempt.
In April 1999, I took him to court to change my daughter's last name to mine (my married name.) My basis was that he hadn't seen her for 1 1/2 years, rarely called, payed no support, and refused to sign her birth certificate (didn't dispute the fact she is his child). The judge was pretty ticked off at him for his behavior to his child. He was there (from jail) to contest the change, but the judge allowed it. He told the judge he was going to sign her BC when he was being led out of the court room back to jail and get his "rights." During the course of the case, I told the judge I didn't want child support (under the circumstances of him not seeing her) and the judge told me, "It wouldn't be right to turn around now and sue him for support."
AFter that, he decided he needed to start injecting himself in her life...mostly to annoy me because I got the name change. This is when the 1-2 times a year visit began and his promise breaking to her started. I decided since the circumstances changed, I wanted support. If I have to put up with him bugging us now after all that time, I wanted him to pay support. I didn't think a name change "excused" him from support. I didn't sign anything saying I would never ask for support...only what was said between me and the judge, under those circumstances, that day in court.
Now he says he is going to get me on contempt for lying to the judge about support. I did take him to court in August 2000. ( I actually filed for support months before that, but the department of revenue couldn't serve him for almost a year...he dodged service.) He has paid none of the support. Support enforcement told me that if didn't matter what her name is, if he is her father, he pays. He never did sign her BC, the department of revenue added his name to it for him.
Questions: 1. Is he for real?? Isn't this case closed now? It has been almost 2 years.
2. Isn't there a limit to the amount of time you have in civil court to revisit a closed case to dispute it? I didn't have a lawyer/neither did he...I did the paperwork and represented myself.
3. If he does squeek this into court...was I wrong in suing him for support after he suddenly wanted to be involved after the name change? He says I will go to jail and after two years, the judge will change her name back. This will totally devestate her...she is already crushed about the adoption.
Sorry so long...as usual.
[Edited by whitsmom on 01-24-2001 at 08:36 AM]