LocalRocket
Member
I'll do my best to touch on all of your points, and I did a little research specific to the states involved.
First of all, I wanted to point out that OP never said mom was an incompetent adult. The competent adult would be filling in for dad, not mom. So OP... Regardless of the "competent adult" statement, it sounds as if your husband's order was originally meant to satisfy visitation while you all lived in the same city. Your husband could go back to court and request that his ex bring daughter to the airport for boarding, and with visits happening just twice per year, he should be able to be present for pick up, and vice versa. Personally, I'm not comfortable with my 8 year old flying alone yet, but that's just my opinion, not the law. Since your husband was the first one to create distance in the relationship, it's unlikely that his ex will get dinged for causing the distance to be even further. It is customary for dad to ask for half of the travel expenses. Not more than half, and even at that, there's a chance that he may not be granted his wish. But it might be granted.
Child support is a separate issue, so it's really not addressed in the section of the forum. It has its own section. Pose your child support question separately in that section for more detail-specific advice. A short answer is that there are adequate changes since the agreement that would justify his situation being revisited, but it would not be of any consequence, unless your husband begins taking advantage of all of his visitation time. Alaska only considers the CP’s household income if the NCP has the child for more that 30% of the year. Otherwise, only the NCP income will be considered, and for one child it would be 20% of dad’s adjusted income. This is the same percentage as Texas uses for 1 child.
You asked how to describe mom’s ill treatment of dad without being disparaging. Unless she has done something illegal or which is in direct defiance of their court order, and you have concrete PROOF, it is inconsequential. Most everyone here is accustomed to dealing with steps and exes. Everyone here already knows that divorces and the involvement of new significant others almost always creates bitterness and brings out the worst in people for varying lengths of time, and on both sides. It’s probably more noteworthy when that ISN'T the case. Therefore, you only need to say that the divorce was not amicable and there continues to be a great deal of animosity XX years later. The rest is implied and well understood.
As for what a child calls his or her step parent, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything in writing. Nevertheless, this issue goes to court ALL OF THE TIME, and the judge always rules in favor of the mom going by “mom”, dad going by “dad”, and step parents going by their first names, unless some sort of nickname has been established and is well-like by the CHILD. This is best for everyone involved. It sounds as if your husband was indeed surprised, if not hurt, when she called stepdad “daddy”. The term “biological” is never used unless the child has been legally adopted.
I’m not sure I understand your husband’s final question. Are you saying that his ex objects to the daughter spending time with him on an actual holiday because it will be spent in your family’s home?
First of all, I wanted to point out that OP never said mom was an incompetent adult. The competent adult would be filling in for dad, not mom. So OP... Regardless of the "competent adult" statement, it sounds as if your husband's order was originally meant to satisfy visitation while you all lived in the same city. Your husband could go back to court and request that his ex bring daughter to the airport for boarding, and with visits happening just twice per year, he should be able to be present for pick up, and vice versa. Personally, I'm not comfortable with my 8 year old flying alone yet, but that's just my opinion, not the law. Since your husband was the first one to create distance in the relationship, it's unlikely that his ex will get dinged for causing the distance to be even further. It is customary for dad to ask for half of the travel expenses. Not more than half, and even at that, there's a chance that he may not be granted his wish. But it might be granted.
Child support is a separate issue, so it's really not addressed in the section of the forum. It has its own section. Pose your child support question separately in that section for more detail-specific advice. A short answer is that there are adequate changes since the agreement that would justify his situation being revisited, but it would not be of any consequence, unless your husband begins taking advantage of all of his visitation time. Alaska only considers the CP’s household income if the NCP has the child for more that 30% of the year. Otherwise, only the NCP income will be considered, and for one child it would be 20% of dad’s adjusted income. This is the same percentage as Texas uses for 1 child.
You asked how to describe mom’s ill treatment of dad without being disparaging. Unless she has done something illegal or which is in direct defiance of their court order, and you have concrete PROOF, it is inconsequential. Most everyone here is accustomed to dealing with steps and exes. Everyone here already knows that divorces and the involvement of new significant others almost always creates bitterness and brings out the worst in people for varying lengths of time, and on both sides. It’s probably more noteworthy when that ISN'T the case. Therefore, you only need to say that the divorce was not amicable and there continues to be a great deal of animosity XX years later. The rest is implied and well understood.
As for what a child calls his or her step parent, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything in writing. Nevertheless, this issue goes to court ALL OF THE TIME, and the judge always rules in favor of the mom going by “mom”, dad going by “dad”, and step parents going by their first names, unless some sort of nickname has been established and is well-like by the CHILD. This is best for everyone involved. It sounds as if your husband was indeed surprised, if not hurt, when she called stepdad “daddy”. The term “biological” is never used unless the child has been legally adopted.
I’m not sure I understand your husband’s final question. Are you saying that his ex objects to the daughter spending time with him on an actual holiday because it will be spent in your family’s home?