No phone in CP home

[NC_Dad]

What is the name of your state? North Carolina

1. There is no phone in the home where my children are living with their mother
2. Is this legal in North Carolina?
3. The Custody Order does not mention anything about this
4. What are my options?
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[shuga24]

if there is no phone why dont you get her one. it will benefit you and your kids

 

[NC_Dad]

Her 2nd ex-husband did that last year. It only cost him $450 per month. I don't feel this is an option.

 

[shuga24]

we'll that is really bad for her. how do you communicate with her

 

[NC_Dad]

She has a cell phone. I call, she never answers, I leave a message,she never returns calls, never tells kids I call, won't let them use her precious cell phone minutes to call me. She just drops them off for visits every other weekend. I don't communicate with her. She refuses to discuss anything with me concerning the children. My main concern is that she has 6, yes 6, children. Ages 14,12,10,8,5 & 3. My boys are 14 &12. They are left at her home with the other children while she goes out. There is no way to contact anyone for emergencies.

 

[Tinaa]

We did help my husband's ex this way: Call one of those pay-by-the-month phone companies (about $50 per month). Put the phone in your name. This way the kids can recieve your calls and call local and emergeny numbers. They cannot call long distance nor can they accept collect calls. It is a flat rate. You can also use a big company and restrict access to some of the options, like long distance and collect, 1-900 numbers, etc. It need not cost over $50 max. to get a phone in that home! I only pay $50 monthly for local and unrestricted LD.

 

[shuga24]

were you married to this woman

 

[NC_Dad]

yes, we were married for about 3 years. Divorced for 12 years now.

 

[Tinaa]

Who cares if they were married? I don't think it is illegal to be poor and not be able to afford a phone! If you want them to have a phone, you'll have to get them one.

 

[nextwife]

If she doesn't answer the phone she DOES have, what makes you think she will answer one you get?

Oh, I have heard of cel phones that one can get which are preprogramed to ONLY call a preset number (the NCP) or 911. Look into that to give to your kids to call you. As they can call nobody else, she cannot abuse it's use.

$450/month in phone bills her other ex paid? Sounds like her problem isn't "being poor" it's making bad choices about what she does and how she uses money.

 

[NC_Dad]

She is not poor. She recieves well over $2,000 a month in child support. Doesn't work, her choice. When kids are not in school they are in daycare. State pays for that. I take kids to doctor, dentist ,optomologist, buy medicine, pay for school clothes and shoes,etc. She has a cell phone but won't get a phone in the home because she doesn't want my sons to talk to me. When they had a phone they weren't allowed to call. Its long distance. She wont let them use her cell phone. It will "waste" her minutes. I want to know if I can force her to get a phone in the home. The kids are there alone for several hours each day so she can go see her boyfriends. Does anyone know if I can make her get a phone at the house where my children are?

 

[mikesonlyangel]

here where i live in iowa we can get a home phone for 25 a month with no long distance and with a 900 block and that is with caller id. I think the idea of a phone for the kids that they talked about might work. But she could take it away too.

 

[Tinaa]

Maybe, you can file a modification ofr visitation stating you get to talk to your kids on the phone during the time you don't have them. That way if she doesn't allow communication, you can file comtempt charges against her. I don't know, it is just an idea, talk to an attorney.

 

[haiku]

some people choose to use cell phones and don't have a landline at all. and if yo udon't want to answer a landline, it becomes just as useless as an unanswered cell.

What you may want to consider is asking for "phone visitation" where it is court ordered that the children are available to you at a certain time by phone, without interruption by the CP.

my husbands ex must have his children available one night a week from 630 to 7:00 or face contempt charges.

 

[mikesonlyangel]

a friend of mine has that with her x she is the cp and she has to allow him to call so many days a week at certain times.