Why do the judges let this keep going?

[Mamabear91399]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I filed for divorce in June 2005 after my (now x) moved in with his gf, her mother and son in Maryland. My children were 5 at the time (twins, one of each) My divorce was final in Nov. 2008 I as awarded sole legal & residential custody. Through supreme court my x's visitation would be periodically restricted in that he either couldn't allow them around his gf (he averages 1 live in gf a year, one currently imprisoned for the 4th or 5th DWI, current gf recently arrested for soliciting sex and previously for under/over larceny, or he has to remain on Long Island for visitation. So since the divorce my x has been calling cps on a regular basis. They come to investigate even when the allegation reads "Allows children to eat pudding for breakfast (not that its true, its just so stupid) so it is always unfounded but I am forced to show up at family court anyway. Now my children are 12 and so angry with their father. I follow the agreement to the letter. He now wants a custody trial. It will be difficult to take this kind of time off from work and keep my job. Why do the courts allow this????

 

[LillianX]

Simply put... because for every case like yours, there are many, many, MANY more cases of actual neglect. The system has protocols that MUST be followed in every case to prevent anything from slipping through the cracks.

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I filed for divorce in June 2005 after my (now x) moved in with his gf, her mother and son in Maryland. My children were 5 at the time (twins, one of each) My divorce was final in Nov. 2008 I as awarded sole legal & residential custody. Through supreme court my x's visitation would be periodically restricted in that he either couldn't allow them around his gf (he averages 1 live in gf a year, one currently imprisoned for the 4th or 5th DWI, current gf recently arrested for soliciting sex and previously for under/over larceny, or he has to remain on Long Island for visitation. So since the divorce my x has been calling cps on a regular basis. They come to investigate even when the allegation reads "Allows children to eat pudding for breakfast (not that its true, its just so stupid) so it is always unfounded but I am forced to show up at family court anyway. Now my children are 12 and so angry with their father. I follow the agreement to the letter. He now wants a custody trial. It will be difficult to take this kind of time off from work and keep my job. Why do the courts allow this????

As Lillian says, the system is designed to allow almost any claim to be made - better to investigate a number of unfounded claims than to miss a true case of neglect.

However, there are things you can do.

First, you should be able to have the motion for custody trial thrown out on the basis of lack of change of circumstances. It will still be inconvenient, but a lot less inconvenient than a full trial. A good attorney may be able to get it thrown out with minimal bother.

Beyond that, if he's abusing the court system and frequently making false claims or frivolous suits, you can ask the court to order him to pay your legal expenses. You can also ask that he be ordered to post bond before filing any more suits.

CPS is tougher. AFAIK, someone can continue to file false claims and there's not really much that can be done about it. Of course, CPS will eventually get tired of it and they could possibly go after him for filing false claims, but there's probably nothing you can do. Meanwhile, you'll be on a first name basis with the CPS person and it will be nothing more than a minor annoyance.