Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

By William E. Brooks

Author, "My Life In Exile"

Recently, in what should have been a joyous occasion, I became a grandfather. However, I have yet to see my new grandson. 

And what is worse, my son, the father, has only seen his son a handful of times because he is not married to the child’s mother, which effectively gives him zero rights to his child at the moment.

I was aware of the difficulties divorced dads face in trying to maintain a meaningful relationship with their children because I’ve lived through that experience. But now my eyes are opened to a whole new area of need: that of unwed fathers.

Leslie Lorenzano

Cordell & Cordell Divorce Lawyer

When you have a limited amount of parenting time to spend with your children, you want to make every moment count.  Maximizing your parenting time with your children may take planning and creative thought, which can be daunting at times, but there are many options for fun activities to do and places to go with your children.

Each child is different, so he or she may only be interested in a few of the following ideas depending on his or her age, interests, skills, etc., but at least talking to your children about possible activities will show them that you are interested in having a memorable and active time with them when you are together.

Question:

I owned my house, cars, and most of the furniture before I married my wife and took in her two children.

Now that we are going to get a divorce, she claims she will not move out and has a right to my vehicles and furniture.

Can I take all my belongings, move out, and change the locks on the home since she will not leave my property?

Question:

I feel like I am too poor to afford a divorce. Not just the attorney fees and court costs, but my inability to afford to live after a divorce has kept me from filing.

I don't make enough money to support two households and give her half of my paycheck for alimony and child support.

So what do people do when they are too poor to afford the aftereffects of a divorce?

Question:

I am ordered to reimburse a percentage of medical expenses for my children. I recently paid $4,000 to my ex-wife for braces for one of my kids. 

However, after I paid, she received a $3,000 refund from the original orthodontist and then went to another orthodontist and I was ordered to pay $2,000 more for those fees.

I believe at the very least I should be entitled to half of my ex-wife's refund she received from the first orthodontist. She is threatening to take me to court if I don't pay her the new amount of $2,000, but I think part of the refund she received from money I paid should go toward that amount.

Who is right here?