Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

We have a court-ordered child custody arrangement, but my ex-wife and I were thinking of informally modifying it.

Her new boyfriend is abusive and we both agreed that the children should stay with me for the time being, even during her scheduled parenting time.

Should we have this agreement notarized, or how can we make our verbal agreement upheld in court if an issue arose and made it look as if I was keeping our children from their mother?

Question:

What issues can be address during contempt of court hearings in a family law matter?

I filed for contempt of court because my ex-wife is refusing my visitation rights, but she is threatening to bring up other unrelated parts of the divorce decree that she says I am not following.

So what happens during a contempt hearing? Can her divorce lawyer bring up other issues related to the decree?

By Sara Pitcher

Noblesville, Indiana Divorce Lawyer

If you plan on traveling out of the country with your children, then additional steps other than the ones outlined in "Traveling Out Of State With Children" must be taken.

Travel outside of the country may be substantially more difficult or even prohibited all together, especially if the travel would be to a country that is not a party to the Hague Convention.

By Sara Pitcher

Noblesville, Indiana Divorce Lawyer

My previous article "Guardian Ad Litem, Divorce and Child Custody" discussed a Guardian Ad Litem's role in divorce and child custody cases, which is primarily to advocate for the child’s best interests and file a report with the court.

While the Guardian Ad Litem’s child custody report and findings are very persuasive to a judge, the judge is not bound to follow the Guardian Ad Litem’s recommendations.

Although the judge is not bound to follow the GAL’s recommendation, they often do as it would have been a waste of the parties’ resources to pay for a GAL only to have the judge issue a ruling inconsistent with the recommendations of the GAL without sufficient cause.

For this reason, it is best to have a favorable GAL report and to work cooperatively with the Guardian Ad Litem.

But if the child custody report is unfavorable to you, you do have options.

Question:

My question is about child support and paternity laws.

Paternity was established and I have been deemed the father of a son I did not know about for many years. I have also been ordered to pay child support.

I have two children with my current wife and this recent child support order is too high to properly care for my current family and the son I did not know about until last year.

What can I do to modify child support so that I can protect my current family from financial ruin?