Child Custody And Divorce: Free Legal Advice
Child Custody And Divorce: Free Legal Advice
Child Custody And Divorce: Free Legal Advice
- - - - - - - - - -
Every now and then a father (undoubtedly a father, not a mother, I don't mean to be sexist here, but that's just the way it is) comes in to the office, and says "I want to file for custody. My child's mother is a real goofball, she's got several men in her life, she's drinking to excess, and she's leaving the child with various babysitters while she runs the bars, it's a real disaster."
Well, it sounds like a real disaster: let's talk about your situation...what type of living arrangements do you have?
I have a one-bedroom apartment, over the club.
What club?
Well, the motorcycle club. It's the Hell's Angels motorcycle club, I know it's not the greatest place, but I plan on getting a townhouse, you know, with two bedrooms. It'll be really nice for my daughter.
Very nice. What shift do you work?
Well, I work second shift, three to eleven. But I plan on putting in for first shift, you know, so I can be home when my daughter gets home from school. She gets out at three, or somewhere in there, I think, and it would be nice if I could be there. If I can't get first shift, then I plan on getting a good babysitter, you know, someone qualified, not like the ones that my ex-wife uses, she just drops Amanda at any old place, usually teenage girls, can you believe it?
Well, maybe. Aren't you paying a portion of the child care, as part of your support obligation?
No, but they wanted me to. The Friend of the Court, those bastards, they wanted to raise my support last year, but I talked to Murphy, my boss, and he gave me voluntary layoff, and I went in there, to the hearing, with my unemployment check, and the support stayed at thirty dollars. Same as the year before, when they tried to raise it the second time.
The Friend of the Court has tried this before?
Yeah, they try about every year. But I get the layoff, take two weeks off of work, and go tell Judge Mailer that I'm not working right now, and the support never gets raised. It's still at thirty dollars.
Well, is your support paid up?
Well, I've got an arrearage of about five thousand, but I plan on getting it paid, one of these days. Do you think it's important, when I'm asking for custody? If you want, I could pay it tommorow, you know, run down there and give 'em a check.
That would be fine. What are the work arrangements of your ex-wife?
Well, she's been in the same place for eight years, she's a janitor, if you can believe it, a goddam janitor, for the Board of Education. She used to be at the Elementary School, but now I guess she's at the Middle School, has been for a couple of years.
Oh. What school does your daughter attend?
She's at the Middle School, she just started there. She's in, I think, seventh or eighth, or ninth grade, one of those.
You're not sure which grade? Have you been to any parent-teacher conferences?
Well, no, but I don't get the notices. My ex-wife, that bitch, doesn't tell me anything. I'd have to call the school myself, if I wanted to know anything. She's a real bitch, you know what I mean?
Well, kind of. Tell me about your daughter's school record, how is she doing? That's one of the factors in the custody statute, the "home, school, and community record" of the child. What's your daughter doing in school?
Well, you know, the usual. But there was something, I'm not sure what it was, Art, or Marching Band, or some damn thing, they called my mother, and then my mother called me, they wanted something extra outta me, and I told my mother to tell them to take a hike, I'm not paying any extras, she's not entitled to it, that bitch.
How come they called your mother?
'Cause I won't talk to her. She's a bitch, a real bitch, you have no idea.
Who is "they", who calls your mother?
Well, sometimes my daughter calls my mother, in addition to my ex. My mom and them, they talk, sometimes. One or the other will call my mom, you know, usually to complain about something or other. I'm not sure just what it was.
Well, let's talk about why you decided to file for custody right now, this year. What caused you to make this decision?
'Cause the government, they're gonna take my tax return, for the back support. I got a notice in the mail. As soon as I got the notice, I called over there, and spoke to my daughter, and I told her what a bitch her mother really was. I just laid it out for her, told her that her mother was a real piece of shit, and that my tax return better be left alone, that's my money, I mean, I earned it, right? I'm the one that worked the overtime, nobody else. If I've got a couple of bucks coming, that's my business. I told my daughter I was sending the form, from the Friend of the Court, in the mail, and I wanted my ex to sign off of that support, and if she didn't, then I was going to file for custody. That's a bad environment over there, with my ex living in her sister's house, she's been doing that for ten years now, since the divorce, and it's time it stopped. I can provide a better environment for my daughter than that, you know what I mean? Anyway, the bitch didn't send the form back, so I'm going for custody. What are my chances?
That, my friends, is the way the interview happens. I really didn't embellish very much, you'd be surprised at how little. Most fathers are very concerned about their children's welfare, but occasionally one like this does come in. Just to be fair, I'm going to put up an example of the female equivalent of this guy, the other side of the coin, if you will. There are just as many bad mothers as there are bad fathers in this world, it's not a gender-specific situation. Back to the point, this interview was put up for a purpose: there is ONE of the custody factors on which this man could win. I'd like you to take another look at the custody factors, and determine which factor might go in this man's column, if this case went to court.
Remember, each factor is a separate contest, and the judge will rule in favor of one parent or the other as to each factor. Glance at the factors again, then answer the question: on which factor could this man win?