r/Custody

i thought joint custody meant parenting time is not necessary?

i cant beleive he is asking for this. we have mediation and i am trying to get this done quick. I want to have full sole and legal custody with decision making. what are my chances i could get this trhough mediation or should we just go to trial. (New york, NY)

EDIT: i have been the sole parent since birth

ex husband (divorced 5 years) went off the deep end this past weekend. I commented on a Facebook reel about narcissists that I was in agreement with what the video said and someone sent it to him. I did not name him or share any identifying details in the comment. I have him and all his family blocked on social media. Either someone sent it to him or he’s stalking me from a fake profile.

So that angered him and set him off so much that he began sending our children disturbing texts telling them he hates me and “fuck your mom” and such and then he told my 8 year old he was just going to hang himself.

So I contacted his daughter and she called the people around him and they got to him (he actually did attempt). He spent 24 hours on psychiatric hold.

I’m now very concerned for my children’s safety. But I’m also unsure if I have enough to get emergency custody. I know that if I file and try to get it and am unsuccessful that he will be angry and retaliate so I don’t want to try without some assurance that I have a good case.

I’ve contacted a lawyer and waiting to hear back but I wanted opinions and others experiences as well.

The mother of our baby and I agreed to a 50/50. (Baby is 5months) We are about to finish up our custody plan and present it to my lawyer. We have had little to no problems agreeing on the schedule because I told her the biggest thing to me is I want to see him grow up in the same town as I did and she also agrees.
So my question is, what things can I put down on paper to concrete this so he grows up in this town. We agreed to split financials 50/50 but should I be paying more of something?

Extras:
Housing is difficult to find in this small town.
There are towns with schools in each direction 20 minutes away.
I’m afraid within 5 years she’s going to move.
Baby currently goes to daycare in this town.
I am a farmer that will always be in this area for the rest of my life.

Said ex and i broke up after i found out i was pregnant. He said terrible things and i wasn’t happy in the relationship so i ended it. He had kept on saying he wanted to be included but only went to 2 dr appointments and reached out via text every three months, which would usually end in arguments. When baby was born i told him 3 days after she was born (the same day i came home from the hospital very traumatic birth) At first he’d show up unannounced and stay for hours so we set a schedule. Two days a week, two hours both days. I probably took baby over to his parents house 3-4 times. Other than that he never asked for more time. I did file for child support when baby was 4 months old and finally, through wage garnishments, i’m receiving payments 4 months later. In fact when i said to bring diapers next time he came over (before schedule) he responded “i appreciate that, and see you do need the help like i been trying to give, i’ll get you them but you have to let me have my daughter from time to time … also don’t demand stuff from me have some respect like an adult all you have to say is please” Since i was pregnant he has managed to get two cars repossessed and has gotten evicted (had to go to court for it) Now he has to take his dads truck or be dropped off by his mom to come see baby. He and his family (last i knew) smoked marijuana in the house constantly. His parents (who he lives with) have history of abuse (never reported) and he had to reschedule recently because he got in a fight at a birthday party😐 It is also a 3 bedroom with 5 people in it (sometimes 7 when stepdads kids are over for summer or holiday) I will say he has always shown up on scheduled date or has rescheduled. At the same time he has said some concerning things that makes me question his ability to keep a baby for more than 4 hours. He also doesn’t take constructive criticism very well (e.g. he was teaching baby to get off couch by taking baby’s hands and supporting them. i said it’ll be beneficial for baby to get on stomach and slide off and he said yeah and then doubled down on what he was doing) Baby is also cranky at the end of his time but after he leaves baby is fine. He has now requested 50/50 and said (ON THE OFFICIAL COURT PAPERS) he was “whiling to start with weekends” (verbatim). I’m looking into lawyers but im not loaded with money and this is my first time going through anything like this. if you have any advice or opinions ANYTHING that would be appreciated

The backstory: My ex signed away his legal and physical rights when our child was born and left the state. Four years later, I had moved within the original state and he moved back, got a new girlfriend, and decided to fight for custody of a kid he had chosen to leave. Because ex had signed off and we never went through court, I had no idea I still had to inform the court of my move to a different county. I had informed my ex prior to it. The judge convinced me if it went to court they would basically force me to move back and he would get 50/50 by default, despite criminal and visitation history, or if I didn’t want to move back they would give him (a stranger to the child at that point) primary and I would get every other weekend. We settled for joint legal and he has every other weekend and extended holidays. We live 3 hours apart. He uses joint legal to try to control and embarrass me, not to do anything with the kid. None of his custody time overlaps with school. He does not come to school events or graduations. Through all of preschool he denigrated the school telling the kid it was just daycare, the teachers were not actually teachers, all the kids were bad, etc etc. He has a much older child that has chosen not to see him anymore, but in the decade he had on and off visitation he never went to any school events or teacher conferences. He spent all summer trying to convince our kid that I took them away from him and that they need to move back to his town so it’s a shorter drive to dad’s house.

To the current issue: Two years in a row now he has freaked out about not being listed as an emergency contact with the school “because it’s his legal right”. He is listed as a parent with the district and they have his information. The school has told both me and him that when it comes to an emergency contact they need somebody that can get to the school asap, and calling somebody who lives three hours away in an emergency just doesn’t make sense. He went off on the teacher “well she moved the kid away from me!” Then he wanted to know who the contacts were and got mad that my husband was an emergency contact, asked the school what he was listed as (they said stepfather) and then went off about how he can’t be replaced. Is there anything I can do here? It is his right to contact the school, but I feel it is highly inappropriate to bring up your custody grievances with the school. I don’t go around telling teachers, “he’s a raging alcoholic who willingly left the kid as a baby for several years.” He does this each year with each new teacher because it’s the only way he can still get to me and he wants to remind me he has power over me and make them think I’m this monster he’s made up. It puts a lot of stress on me. We’re three days into school. He called the teacher three times yesterday during the school day to discuss the emergency contact issue and got mad that she wouldn’t step away from the classroom to talk to him. And then she had to talk to me about it to find out our custody details because he made himself seem like somebody who had no rights and she didn’t want to get in trouble. Now today she’s given me a heads up that the principal will be calling me today, because apparently he’s still calling. He could have done all of this before school started, but he waited until it’s a major disruption for the teacher and the kids. I feel that this continued behavior is going to negatively affect our child’s schooling. Are they going to ask me to remove my kid from their program? It is a very small school, they don’t have a secretary to field parent calls. A teacher taking a call during the school day means they’re not teaching. I also feel that I need to send him a message to document this inappropriate behavior, but he always turns it around on me and lies through his teeth on OFW so it feels pointless to even try to discuss with him. But if we ever end up back in court it will be “there’s no documentation of what you’re saying he does.” I basically have to open myself up to be bullied to document this issue.

TL;DR
My ex is flexing his joint legal custody by harassing the school about something that will never matter and creating drama for me.

[CT] Teenagers (15 at the time, now 16 and 14) moved out with their father and the youngest (10) decided to stay with me.
The older two are not speaking to me or texting me back. Father is their chauffeur and wallet.
During the initial court stuff, father was very pleasant and we both agreed on 50/50 and no issues over holidays. The court family guy was so impressed that nothing else was done. Fast forward 2 weeks later, first argument with my daughter because she was being super disrespectful, she called her father and he picked her up. It has been 6 months without seeing her.
Trial is in 2 weeks. I read a lot that the judges listen to teens wishes. She now can drive and father gave her a car. I have it on video (security cameras) how disrespectful she was. Any advice ? Will I get 50/50? How will I handle this ?

What did you put in your parenting plan with a high conflict and controlling parent and stepparent. We had it modified last year and they are wanting to modify AGAIN based off of “things the child relayed” (2nd grade)… an example was “not having everything the other kids have” which i asked for an example 3 times and was provided with nothing. Anyways just looking to see if there was anything that helped smooth things out for anyone that they outlined in their plan?

Hello. I have a 3 month old daughter and her dad and I just split up due to a hostile, abusive environment and I didn’t want my daughter around it. I consulted an attorney and in Ohio, I have sole custody of her since we were never married. I’ve tried arranging times that he could have with her, but during these exchanges he becomes abusive verbally, makes threats, and all around tries intimidating me. The lawyer suggested riding out the custody I have until he decides to file. I do not want her around him. But he’s shown me that he cannot be civil around her and he doesn’t focus on her while he has her, he focuses on me. I don’t want him to see her again until he files for custody but I know that can bite me in the ass someday. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with this? I have lots of evidence that he’s unstable and I document everything. I don’t want to put my baby in his line of fire.

Hey all! New to Reddit but I am genuinely lost on what to do
I’ll have to give some context, but I’ll do my best to keep it brief

I (30m) have a 7 year old son with my ex (31f)
We both recently moved to different locations in March of this year

The move was great, custody 50/50 and time spent at each household was great, my son attended school at her house as it seemed to be a newer facility and the neighborhood was very tight knit and a great community.

Fast forward to now, I’ve come to learn my ex is pregnant with the husband of her neighbor directly across the street. It is either the husbands child, or the other neighbor a few doors down child.

Obviously this has created a super tense and volatile environment for everyone in the neighborhood, kids included. She is an alcoholic, and multiple neighbors expressed concern about her drinking while pregnant, and her drinking in general. My son has spent the last 3 weeks coming to my house and telling me how sad he is that none of the kids are “able to play” anymore for one reason or another, when just before the affair and pregnancy came to light they would all hangout all the time.

The bus stop is directly out front of the house of the husband she is assuming is the father, where he lives with his wife and 2 kids. It is just a nightmare of a messy situation, and with kids all of a sudden unable to hangout with him, he is feeling isolated and alienated.

I’ve asked if he can go to school with me, as school is 5 minutes away from my house, and I am available to drop off and pick up at the bus stop.

She won’t agree, and is telling me she’ll fight me etc etc
I just want a school change. I don’t think my son, or her standing out front of the bus stop everyday in this situation is a good idea. Let alone once the kids are aware, the things he might be told or bullied for.
We have managed to keep everything out of the courts, there’s only formal agreements around time spent with each parent.
There is no court order, no legal custody agreement or child support of any kind.

I genuinely feel lost and stuck, I don’t want to change the schedule, or keep him full time as it would devastate him to be kept away from her.
But I do want him to attend school with me, and keep him as insulated from the drama as much as possible

Any and all help, advice, tips, etc
Please

My son never deserved any of this. She’s not a bad parent, but she is in a bad situation.

I’m so lost on what to do, I’ve got to protect my baby boy. She’s done more than enough damage to him already, my heart aches for him.

I read in another post that if she files for custody in VA, as opposed to the new state she is in, she will be stuck in VA.

What does she need to do here?

Will she get in trouble for having left with the kid without giving 30 days notice? I saw that online as well.

Just trying to be a supportive friend to her. Thanh you.

I am attempting to plan finances post-divorce, but I cannot figure out how California calculates child support.
I consulted friends, did my research online, and even tried some calculators, but all of them gave me different information. Some friends tell me that child support depends on your income only, while others are convinced that parenting time matters.
I need to prepare for my case that will be held in Orange County and figure out California's rules of child support calculation before making any money-related decisions.

My ex has an aggressive lawyer who has previously been suspended for lying and submitting false documents. My first lawyer was good but a solo practitioner who couldn’t keep up with her filings, and his $450/hr rate became unaffordable.

My second lawyer is friends with opposing counsel and, according to another attorney, wants to work for him. She keeps pressuring me to change my positions and hasn’t adequately advocated for my priorities regarding custody. She even told me our baby would get used to her father and wouldn’t know the difference if she wore my perfume.
My retainer has now run out. I paid toward the balance just to get confirmation about whether documents/witnesses were timely submitted, but they won’t answer unless I replenish the retainer—even though I’m not asking them to do new legal work.

I’ve been referred to a third attorney, have spoken with him twice, and feel he would represent me better. He’s offering a discount and has a higher retainer but lower hourly rate.

I’m worried switching twice will make me look unstable to the judge, especially since opposing counsel is already using my PPD and SSRI against me. Would the judge view switching twice negatively, or is competent representation more important?

I’ve been a freelancer makeup artist for commercial photo shoots and events for 20 years. In my industry, there are no full time/part time positions as they hire freelancers for each gigs.

I’ve been separated for 5 yrs and the partner and I always had a flex schedule for my two young kids but I had them 60/40. I had them Fri&Sat every weekend for over 4 years till last Nov when I asked for it to be every other weekend.

I recently have been taken to court, with stipulations with the flex schedule and solid Holiday plans which has not finalized and we have a follow up court coming in 2 weeks. They have an attorney and I declined for assigned attorney because I have always been accommodating, appreciative, and understanding with the fact that I am a freelancer and thought the stipulations I wanted revised or added were reasonable as I always do prioritize the kids. I never took them to child support due to their threats to me about suicide, how they don’t have anything, and that I would owe them support because I own my apt, I have investments and they have nothing. I have an Scorp, I pay myself and he has an LLC and he pays himself and I know for sure that I make less than him.

The first appearance in court in front of the judge happened last week. The judge did not like my freelance life, although I have been the main provider for their babysitter fee, camp fee, main saver for their 529 etc, main provider for vacation and extra curricular class fees as well as the one that owns my own apt and don’t have a partner that kicks my kids out of their home when she is upset. In the stipulation he mentions he is open for flexibility but wants solid even/odd holiday schedule. She definitely hinted that my schedule isn’t providing a steady home.

I just found out I’m working M-F in another state and the following week in another state M-F. I had the kids this weekend and next week is his weekend but because I am gone all week these next 2 weeks, I asked him if he would give me the kids next weekend so we all don’t have to go thru 16 days without seeing each other which he declined. He doesn’t have any plans for the weekend but he said he will refuse to change any weekends which wasn’t voiced in the stipulation. If the goal is to prioritize the kids needs, without negative interactions between the parents, I feel as though him declining to give me next weekend and depriving the kids from Mom time isn’t prioritizing the kids needs.

He keeps telling me to get a real job, although this is my career which I’ve been working on for the last 20 years which I have a steady source of income from, definitely more than he does as I’ve been paying for majority of my kids enrichments in education and extra curriculums. If I start declining jobs, I may start loosing work and income as well.

Location: New York

TDLR: I'm on the fence about applying for relocation & primary physical custody of my kids. I have put this off for a number of years but it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay employed here & I think the town I'd move to is better for the kids.

Their dad is a good dad. If I'm allowed to relocate, one of us will lose time with the kids & the kids will no longer have both parents in the same area. It will be costly & timely for both of us... likely destroying the fragile co-parenting we have. Dragging everyone through family court is never great, but especially if after 2-3years & a lot of money in legal fees, the outcome is no different to the status quo & I'm not allowed to relocate.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Long story;

I (38F) and my ex-husband (40M) "Cooper" have two children together Bradley (11) and Vanessa (9). We have been separated for around 3years, and he has a new partner of about a year, Brooke (40F).

Cooper & I were together for around 15years & met at work. A few years into our relationship we moved across the country to the small rural town he grew up, let's call it "Dumpsville". We moved as his father was starting to show signs of illness from age, and my family also lived on this side of the country. We chose not to move to the town I was from, "Sunnyville" because I had a strained relationship with my father (now deceased).

Over the years we talked about moving to Sunnyville when our kids were in high school to give them better access to schooling & opportunities, and to allow me to return to work. When we finally had our kids, both were enrolled in private high schools in Sunnyville. We sent real estate properties to each other & talked about what suburb we wanted to live in. About what would be close enough to be accessible by public transport so I could work in the city.

In the final years of our marriage when I started trying to make more concrete plans, he began resisting the move. The problem with this is that my job is very specialised & cannot be done from Dumpsville. Over the course of our marriage I took around 8years off full time work because he didn't want me having to travel away from our kids for work.

When we split, we all stayed in Dumpsville. I have no support here. He has his parent who helps everyday he has them.

We have 50/50 custody & I travel for work when I don't have the kids. I earn significantly more but we have currently agreed to no child support. He could earn just as much if not more if he went back into the same field, but he has chosen not to as working away is difficult. Unfortunately because of living in Dumpsville & needing to fit 50/50 custody, I'm very limited on the contracts I can get. I have to work as a casual contractor - there are no full time permanent roles available from here.

As a casual contractor I sometimes have to change which week is my work week \[think 1 week work, 1 week kids\]. Coooper was very flexible about changing our parenting roster to suit until last time.

I totally accept that the changing roster is difficult for him. I got absolutely slammed on reddit last time telling me that it is unfair to expect him to constantly change his life for my work roster. Let me say - its difficult for me too, and not my choice. if I want to stay in Dumpsville, stay in my career & have 50/50 custody, that's my option.

(Where he has holidays etc prebooked, I would make sure he still got those even though he would refuse any changes that allowed me to recoup those days with the kids)

Once Cooper started seeing Brooke, he started refusing roster changes as it affected his ability to see her without either set of kids. He stated that he won't agree to something that stops him having childfree time with his partner.

Eventually it got to the point where I said my current contract requires this change, if you can't accomodate that I will be unemployed. Given how difficult it is to find contracts for 50/50 from here, I may be out of work for a significant period of time & will likely require child support while I look for a job or retrain. Coming from the same industry, Cooper is aware of how difficult these contracts are to find, so Brooke changed her custody agreement and we went ahead with the roster change.

He has now changed his position & has said roster changes are no longer an issue as he agreed to that one. And he just needs to know a set roster so he can makes plans (eg set for 6mo). Unfortunately as a casual contractor I could lose my job / need to change roster tomorrow.

For understanding some of the following:

\- I am diagnosed ADHD & self-diagnosed ASD (suggested by many of my/Brads therapists 🤣)

\- Brad is ASD Lvl 2 but "high functioning".

\- Vanessa had early intervention & all therapists said to have her assessed for ASD/ADHD. When we did the diagnosis process she did not get any diagnosis. As the school did not complete all the paperwork, the assessor could not show she was affected at school. We were told to bring her back for review when she is in high school & could better articulate her struggles herself.

The kids are now getting closer to high school and I have decided to apply for relocation. I have put this off since we separated as it will be timely, costly, exhausting & will damage the fragile co-parenting relationship we have.

If I move to Sunnyville, I will:

\-be able to work in the city

\-not require travel away

\-have a flexible roster of office/WFH

\-be able to work M-F

\-still have financial stability

\-have family support

If the kids move with me, they will have access to:

\-better schools (schools here are all below state/national average)

\-better medical facilities

\-broader range of therapy options (Brad is ASD)

\-Warmer weather for Brads asthma

\-broader range of extracurricular activities

\-broader range of cultural diversity & experiences

\-time with my family who have made major efforts to be involved so far

\-specialised opportunities for their current "hobbies"

\-opportunity to attend uni while living at home

\-broader range of job opportunities

Cooper has an easily transferable trade & could easily find a job in Sunnyville, but he doesn't want to move. He believes that the rural/country nature of Dumpsville is the best thing for our kids, and while I don't agree I understand why he thinks that.

If the kids stay

\-Dumpsville has beautiful national park & rivers

\-beach is 15min away

\-stay in the town/home/friends that they know

\-low socio economic region im decline

\-declining businesses, economy, job opportunities

\-below state/national education

\-few activities available for teens before they can drive

\-Cooper doesn't support more than 1 after school & is reluctant to organise/host social interactions for the kids

I'm concerned if Cooper gets primary physical custody that he won't be consistent with:

\-their therapy appointments/medical care

\-after school activities

\-visitation with me

I am concerned because he has:

\-failed to do most things agreed upon in our parenting plan

\-illegally used financial control during separation to force my agreement to our financial settlement

\-refused to.follow through on part of our court ordered financial settlement as it was "just a note, not required"

I do not believe he did these things to be petty or vengeful - I think he truly believes what he has done is legal & correct. Which is why I worry if he thinks he is correct in doing something that contradicts a visitation prder, I will miss out on seeing my kids.

I have asked Cooper what compromises we could make so that I could stay & work from Dumpsville until the kids finish high school but he is yet to suggest anything.

I don't want to do this. I don't know that I have the mental, emotional or financial resources to get to court. And I don't know how I'll cope if I am allowed to relocate but my children aren't. But I really feel like it's getting to the point where I'm going to be unemployed with no options if I don't start this process.

I could look at a permenant full time role but I would be away for 9 days every 2 weeks & honestly I don't want to work more, for less money, pay child support & see my kids less. And when I do have them be so exhausted I can't be a good mum. Even 7 days on 7 days off doesn't give me/the kids time to settle in. With appointments, reinhabiting the house, then packing the house back up it feels like a cyclone. 5 days would be terrible. \[It would be different with short visits from them to either town, as the parent would already be in that house. No need to get the house set-up then packed-up again in that time\].

I wanted to end screen time at 10pm to start getting my daughters back on track with their sleep schedule. My eldest refused and I flicked her in the head and told her to give up the phone so she can get it back in the morning (12 years old). After a short argument she gave up her phone. My other daughter from my previous relationship came home from her friends house (11 years old). She made herself something to eat and saw her sister was upset. On her way to go eat her food she dropped her hot food. Still upset with the older daughter he did not immediately respond. The girls disappeared. They had gone to their room to call their mother, who called the police, who arrested me on Child abuse for flicking one kid and the story twisted into pushing the other down the stairs. Neither child was injured. No burns.

Now my ex wife is denying parenting time. I have not seen or spoken the either of them in 2 weeks, which they were supposed to be with mem. Mom called cps, I know it was her from the list of complaints and how it was worded. Cps said they were at the house on suspicion of cameras in the bathroom, babies living in filth, glass everywhere, no food, no running water and mold everywhere.

Cps came and left. No safety plan. Everything checks out.

Last year the court order was changed to expand my parenting time due to refusal from mom to coparent. Mom refused to follow this and denied the entirety of last summer.

Recently the parenting time has been followed from 20% dad 80% mom to 40% dad 80% mom with the children having more overnights with mom but being at dads house during the day most of every other week. I was also given almost 3 months worth of make up parenting time.

This is the 5th call to cps no finding, wellness check 35 I guess was the charm. After 34 wellness checks no findings of danger a made up story has my ex denying all parenting time. No emergency order in place.

Is it possible that this made up story between my daughters and ex wife could cause me to lose custody? Shouldn't someone be able to find inconsistencies in this or at the very least see that this is a 5 year strenuous custody case where mom has refused to follow court orders or coparent, been held in contempt repeatedly. She couldn't get then taken away by simply saying safety concerns, she had to make up a damn story.

They are being alienated. This is 100% mental abuse from mom. Mom hasnt been in the house since she took the kids and left. She has never met my youngest children. All of our family and extended family goes straight to voicemail on their phones. Roblox, Facebook, discord, messenger everything is blocked. What do I do? Custody lawyer says i have to clear up this accusation before he is comfortable doing anything which will add another month of denied parenting time.

The girls are usually decently comfortable and well adjusted when the parenting time schedule is followed. When they are kept away there is some sort of brainwashing and they come back shells of the kids I know they are and have detachment issues from their younger siblings, the youngest isn't old enough to remember them when they are gone for a month.

Best ideas? thoughts? Should I do a civil standby and go get them? Nothing is in place to stop parenting time. No protection order. No charge (im sure that it will be dropped... I hope).

​

Mom has full physical custody and shares legal with father, never been married the child has always live with mom , child is in double digit age now, father saw opportunity and file 51A mother has a couple of drinks but never exposed to child...anyway father claims neglect snd abuse got ex parte order , parents will be in front of a judge in a week...can mother loose her custody ? And it's her only child but he hasany others with another lady.

Father wants full physical and legal custody

Oregon dad of two (4 & 7). Current order gives me limited parenting time, but there have been repeated problems with the order actually being followed, including denied/changed parenting time and unilateral decisions by Mom.

There are also ongoing concerns about Mom's ability to consistently care for the kids due to recurring medical issues. I'm not trying to diagnose or attack her, I'm trying to figure out what is legally relevant and what isn't.

I've spoken with several attorneys and gotten different answers about whether I should pursue custody/parenting-time modification, enforcement of the existing order, or both. Retainers are costly, so I'm trying to understand my options before taking that step.

My goals are:

-More substantial and consistent parenting time, [Ideally 50/50 or primary custody.]

-An arrangement that actually works for the kids and can be followed consistently.

-A child support amount that is sustainable rather than forcing me further into debt.

I have documentation of the parenting-time issues and communications.

For those who've been through a modification:

What actually made a difference in your case?

What evidence mattered?

Would you pursue enforcement first, modification, or both?

Are there Oregon-specific resources or strategies I should know about?

I'm specifically looking for practical advice/experiences, not just "get a lawyer." I've already talked to several.

I’m 7 months pregnant and live in Florida. The baby’s father lives in Arizona. We were never married and had a short-term relationship; I became pregnant while visiting him in Arizona. We have never lived in the same state.

He has had no involvement in the pregnancy and has said he won’t be involved until paternity is established. He does have another child he is very involved with & just knowing who he is generally, I expect he will seek custody/time-sharing especially to reduce any child support he may owe with me having sole custody.

From my research, I understand I can pursue child support through Florida’s Department of Revenue without that automatically granting him custody.

Once paternity is established, however, he could petition for custody/time-sharing, but that would require him filing in my county and retaining a lawyer licensed in Florida.

Also I’m planning to file paperwork to get my newborn a passport ASAP because I know once his name is on the birth certificate he will need to sign off on it (not that I’m gonna move out of the country, but if I want to travel in the first five years)

I’m mainly trying to understand what this could realistically look like given the Florida–Arizona distance, especially with a newborn.

For anyone who has dealt with something similar:

•What does a long-distance parenting plan typically look like with a newborn/infant, and how does it change as the child gets older?

•How are travel arrangements and travel costs typically handled when parents live this far apart? (Would they subtract the cost of his travel from any support he owes)

•At what age might a court consider requiring the child to travel to the other parent (in AZ) unaccompanied for longer visits? I’m wondering if I will be the one doing all of the year-round child rearing and he just gets to be the fun parent for holidays and summer and then I won’t be able to have my child for any of the special moments. 🥹

Also, I do believe that I make more money than him. I’m not really sure by how much.. not substantially…but I do definitely have more investments and savings than him. Will they take this into account when I file for child support? Just trying to determine whether it’s even worth it to go after child support if he will then inadvertently open up a custody case.

& what might my attorney bill be if we couldn’t come to some agreement and it ended up as a battle in court?

Hello all, I have some backstory and a question. I want to remove parental rights to my son from his father. Now hear me out because I know that seems harsh.

Backstory: his father has never really been around. He will be gone for months at a time and pop up for the occasional holiday. This year he didn't even reach out for kiddos birthday. He basically decided that his new relationship and being with his new partner are more important. He has never been a financially stable person, and hasn't helped provide for his son in years. There is the occasional visit where he brings a financed electronic or toy, but outside of that it has been all on me.

I have gotten married (my son's father and I were never married), and my husband has expressed interest in adopting him. With that comes some issues. When speaking to his father, the topic was brought up, and he originally agreed to it, he is continuously going back and forth on wanting to sign the paperwork for the adoption and then not wanting to.

I will say, my kids' dad isn't a "bad" dad, just uninterested and uninvolved. I have my own issues with the situation, but I try to be as understanding as possible

There are always excuses as to why he's not around or financially helping. I don't have a job right now (usually never does; if there is a job, it's a short-lived one), I'm busy, I have no car, I am emotionally not doing well right now, and so on. It has been like this ever since we were together, and nothing has changed, so I am unsurprised by all of the flakiness and instability. This was a large part of why we split up in the first place.

These things are causing my son to see him in a not great light. There was a point in time when I used to tell him when his dad was supposed to show up; I have since stopped doing that because there is always an excuse as to why he didn't come. The fact that I have to make excuses for why his dad didn't show up makes me and him so sad. He knows I'm telling him something to cushion his feelings, and he's just too smart for it. He has stopped asking about his father, and calls his stepdad dad instead. This was his choice; nobody asked him to or forced him in any way. He just sees his stepdad as his dad and acts accordingly. He knows he has another dad and has made the choice to call his bio dad by his name instead of the title of dad.

Now for the question. How do I go about getting his parental rights? We sat my son down and asked him if he wants to be adopted by his stepdad, and he could not have been happier about it. With his father going back and forth about wanting rights at all, it's hard to get the paperwork signed, and I honestly don't want to spend 400$ plus attorney fees to have him go against everything and make it a fight. He currently hasn't spoken to his son in about 6 months, and hasn't seen him in well over a year. Parental alienation is a hard thing to prove, and we have a provisional custody plan in place in the courts that he has literally never adhered to.

I could put him on child support, but the only thing that would do is put him in jail because he won't pay it, and it's unhelpful, so there's that too.

I’ve been separated from my ex & the last 2 or so years i was traveling back and forth from NC to FL every month to see my kids. For about the first 6-7 months she wouldn’t let me take them out of her town so I didn’t just to not make things hectic and I would stay in a hotel or air bnb while I visited to see my kids on top of giving her money (child support, paying for a car that’s in my name that she was using & the insurance on it) I’m also not on child support but I was still supporting her which it was over 1k a month counting the car and auto insurance with the money I gave her and I have proof of that through my Apple Pay saying “Child support”. Starting beginning of 2025 she finally let me take them back up to NC but made it very difficult to the point I could only have them for a week and I’m driving over 40 hrs and month to see them and any time we would talk she would go insane, sometimes even throw stuff at me and do this in front of our kids. I have evidence of her getting drunk around them multiple times and the were both under 3 years old and one was being breastfed at the time. I have a recording of her admitting to punching me in the back of my head and saying she wish did it harder also in front of my kids. It’s a whole lot more I have from messages to photos to recordings etc. I’ve went above and beyond for them, I also do not have to work currently because of my VA income so I can also be a full time father, I moved to Florida a couple months ago because she decided to put them in a early start program/ daycare so I also couldn’t take them to NC with me anymore because of the program and she got a job and she’s still wanting child support while im taking care of them and providing the same amount as her. but any advice that can help me get primary custody of my kids or anyone been in a similar situation to where I can get help with this and if I am to somehow get primary can I move out of state? she’s made everything extremely difficult and even threatened me at times to not let me see my kids if I didn’t give her money.