Originally posted by: Captante
Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
If you can show that you have employment and a better life for the child by being out-of-state, your chances are better.
Otherwise to the courts, it looks like you are just being vindictive.
Going to where family is with no job vs having employment and not family: Employment wins.
Child custody fights (which this will turn into) can be expensive.
Figure at least $100/hr and 20-40 hours of legal work for paperwork, meetings and court hearings if it is contested.
Sound a bit conservative on both the hourly rate and the total number of hours required in my opinion, but its certainly in the ballpark.
OP whatever you do
GET YOURSELF A LAWYER or theres a very good chance things won't go your way when this gets ugly. (and it will)
the cheapest custody guy ive had was $160/hr and that went for everything his firm did.
the most expensive was $200/hr but he billed that rate only for *his* time, and lesser rates if his assistants did various things
local legal aid will often help, but they probably wont help if the OP doesnt have good evidence and a good chance to change things, and they wont help if the situation can or will become complicated (trust me, i have a terrifically
complicated case and got turned down). yours doesnt sound anywhere near as bad as mine, so it would be worth looking in to.
personally, as a dad who has had to deal with his kids being taken away for something the mother made up, i hope to hell the OP is honest about any neglect that may be taking place or harm that is coming to the kids. my ex basically fabricated a story about me and i didnt even *see* my kids for weeks. after that, despite her initial request being denied, a judge still left the kids with her and never even listened to my side of the story.
and try to weigh the negative effect of moving far away from the father. when i moved, my ex was supposed to be leaving town immediately anyway. its been hell on my kids to have their parents live so far apart, and they still have 3 years of it, at least, to deal with
perhaps you should also consider asking for a custody agreement that leaves the kids with you more often and restricts how much time they live with him?you can move to another city and raise them without his problems affecting them so much.
without agreement from him, unless you have pretty strong evidence, this is going to be a legal pain in the ass, even if your state laws favor your situation. running this stuff through the courts is such a bitch. start by calling the nearest
Legal Aid office. theyll ask some questions about your finances and the basics of your situation, maybe set up an appointment, and tell you whether or not they may be able to help.
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