WittyUserName
Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ID is originating state but parents live in OR and CA.
I need to know if I am overreacting....
A refresher: Dad and I are trying to work out the details for a long-distance visitation schedule. We went to mediation last summer, Kiddo has been out to see him in CA 2x since then. We are scheduled for trial in Feb, but agreed that until then we would stick to the schedule we came up with in mediation. Dad agreed to pay all transportation costs for getting Kiddo place-to-place, i.e. plane tickets.
Thanksgiving went reasonably well; Kiddo flew both ways as an unaccompanied minor. Dad paid for most of the travel costs as agreed; he had to fly her out of an airport that was not close (2hrs drive) to me but I paid the gas to and from thinking that it was a small price to pay to keep the peace.
Dad resigned his job in late October. He didn't specifically say this was causing him financial trouble, but he didn't purchase Thanksgiving tickets until very close to her trip. Also, his child support stopped in Nov. I haven't said anything to him regarding that, figuring we can talk about it in court later on if payment's not started again by Feb.
Dad has not let me know about travel arrangements for Kiddo over Christmas break. Again, I get the impression that money is tight...as it is for me too. Thinking creatively about how I can maybe offer a solution, I let him know that my husband and I have been invited to my in-laws for a visit the weekend after Christmas. In-laws live in a city 90 min from Dad, and it would be a considerable savings to him to pick Kiddo up from there rather than paying for a flight.
So I offer this: If you still want to fly Kiddo and that's easier, then I can have her at the airport as we'd originally discussed. Or, if you like, I can bring her to NearbyCity a day later and you can drive over and pick her up. She would need a plane ticket home if you'd like her to be with you all week, but at least it's a purchase of a single one-way ticket rather than both ways.
Dad wanted to pick her up in NearbyCity. Great. Only now, he's not answering emails/texts/calls about when her return flight is scheduled. I don't even know if he's purchased a ticket, and we are two weeks in front of Christmas. Dad's got something of a history of changing plans last-minute. I don't think he would do anything really stupid (like not return her) in the midst of a custody trial, but who knows? I wouldn't have thought he'd stop paying support either.
We have no court order regarding visitation, but I am trying my level best to support Kiddo's time with Dad. If he doesn't make some kind of plans for her return (that would be a plane ticket, or he could drive her the 10 hour trip himself), I'm reluctant to send her with him in the first place.
Thoughts? Am I out of line?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I need to know if I am overreacting....
A refresher: Dad and I are trying to work out the details for a long-distance visitation schedule. We went to mediation last summer, Kiddo has been out to see him in CA 2x since then. We are scheduled for trial in Feb, but agreed that until then we would stick to the schedule we came up with in mediation. Dad agreed to pay all transportation costs for getting Kiddo place-to-place, i.e. plane tickets.
Thanksgiving went reasonably well; Kiddo flew both ways as an unaccompanied minor. Dad paid for most of the travel costs as agreed; he had to fly her out of an airport that was not close (2hrs drive) to me but I paid the gas to and from thinking that it was a small price to pay to keep the peace.
Dad resigned his job in late October. He didn't specifically say this was causing him financial trouble, but he didn't purchase Thanksgiving tickets until very close to her trip. Also, his child support stopped in Nov. I haven't said anything to him regarding that, figuring we can talk about it in court later on if payment's not started again by Feb.
Dad has not let me know about travel arrangements for Kiddo over Christmas break. Again, I get the impression that money is tight...as it is for me too. Thinking creatively about how I can maybe offer a solution, I let him know that my husband and I have been invited to my in-laws for a visit the weekend after Christmas. In-laws live in a city 90 min from Dad, and it would be a considerable savings to him to pick Kiddo up from there rather than paying for a flight.
So I offer this: If you still want to fly Kiddo and that's easier, then I can have her at the airport as we'd originally discussed. Or, if you like, I can bring her to NearbyCity a day later and you can drive over and pick her up. She would need a plane ticket home if you'd like her to be with you all week, but at least it's a purchase of a single one-way ticket rather than both ways.
Dad wanted to pick her up in NearbyCity. Great. Only now, he's not answering emails/texts/calls about when her return flight is scheduled. I don't even know if he's purchased a ticket, and we are two weeks in front of Christmas. Dad's got something of a history of changing plans last-minute. I don't think he would do anything really stupid (like not return her) in the midst of a custody trial, but who knows? I wouldn't have thought he'd stop paying support either.
We have no court order regarding visitation, but I am trying my level best to support Kiddo's time with Dad. If he doesn't make some kind of plans for her return (that would be a plane ticket, or he could drive her the 10 hour trip himself), I'm reluctant to send her with him in the first place.
Thoughts? Am I out of line?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
