Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

My soon-to-be ex and I have gone through mediation and are close to finalizing our divorce settlement agreement, but I have a question concerning legal strategies I might pursue.

My ex is mentally and emotionally unstable, and sometimes I fear for our son when in her care because she does not make rational decisions when she is angry.

I would like to add an amendment to the parenting plan giving me full control of decisions regarding our child's well-being.

Should I try to get her to sign the agreement we already discussed with the mediator and then try to add the amendment after the fact or should I fight for this amendment to be added now but risk her not agreeing and changing the whole settlement agreement?

Question:

I am concerned for my son's mental and physical well-being and want to know how to address medical issues if I am not the custodial parent.

He recently had surgery and since then he has been desperate for me, crying every time I leave and all week while he's at his mother's house. I want to find out why he is behaving so different and erratic, but my ex-wife is the parent responsible for education and medicine decisions.

If I take him to a doctor without her consent, I likely will be in trouble for disobeying the court order, though.

What are my options to get him help?

Question:

During my wife's parenting time she frequently does not spend the night at the marital home, instead sleeping at her boyfriend's house.

She says the kids are old enough (ages 12 and 17) to spend the night alone, but I'm concerned for their safety and would rather have them with me than leaving them alone.

Would the courts be likely to modify our visitation schedule or allow me to have the kids when she doesn't want to stay at home during her parenting time?

By Julie Garrison

Special to DadsDivorce.com

Social science is beginning to discover the correlation between marital conflict styles and the likelihood of divorce.

It's a given that couples are going to disagree on a multitude of issues. The way these issues are tackled and resolved can make or break a marriage; issues such as how to effectively handle relationship conflict, the effect that it has on the family, and which conflict styles lead to divorce.

Most people believe that couples who overtly battle-out their conflicts by having arguments and fights have a greater chance of getting divorced.

Though this style of conflict resolution isn’t the best, it is not the conflict style that most often leads to divorce, according to a recent study on how fighting styles affect marriages.

Question:

My wife and I are separated but still legally married. She has since moved out of our marital home with our children but will not tell me where she is living.

Can she keep this information from me and not tell me where she and my kids are living?