Visitation & Mishap w/Child Support

[Petals1024]

my husband and I recently took his ex-wife to court to have
the court papers modified. The papers were changed to his favor. He now has joint custody with his ex but he is the
primary conservator. The child support was being garnished from his wages and couldn't be stopped until the court
papers were signed by the judge, which took two months due to the holidays. His ex received two extra months of child support. How can we get it back? Our lawyer told us that it would cost more in legal fees that it was worth. Couldn't she be force to pay legal fees? Would this be consider contempt since it was court ordered to stop and she continued to cash the checks? We were wondering if we could take her to small claims court without a lawyer. I have read that small claims court doesn't have jurisdiction in family law matters. Also, she has moved over a hundred miles away. According to the papers she is responsible for picking up and bringing back the child. We were being nice and meeting her in the middle to help her out. But due to her actions, we no longer wish to do this. She has made it clear that she will pick up the child from us but we will have to make the drive to her residence to return the child. She hasn't done this yet, but how can we enforce the papers with the least amount of trama to the child? We want to be prepare for this when it occurs.
Thank you for any help. (Texas)

Petals1024

 

[cdcard]

Dear Petals1024:
Yikes! Sounds like mom is going to make you work for your rights. Depending on how much child support mom kept for the 2 months she didn't have primary custody, your lawyer is probably right; it mayt cost you more in attorney fees that you are owed. If there is a chance mom would have to pay your attorney fees to get this money, I would think your lawyer would have mentioned this. If not, ask him/her. No, you can't take her to small claims court; nice idea, though. This may be considered contempt; the question is whether you want to spend the money in attorney fees it will take to get a court order. Also, most courts are reluctant to find contempt if there has only been one instance of nastiness. If mom has a history of extreme nastiness, however, you may want to talk to your lawyer about this possibility. If the court order says mom has to pick up and drop off the child, hold her to it. If dad starts deviating from court orders, mom's defense will be, hey, dad's not following court orders either so dad obviously agreed to meet her half-way; just look at his actions. I'd be careful with mom; sounds like if you give her an inch, she'll take a mile! Give your lawyer a call and have a quick chat; if you keep it brief, you probablya won't get charged. Best of luck to you.