Need Advice ASAP! - View Blog Post

Need Advice ASAP!

My 4 year old daughter father has been in and out of her life for most of the 4 years. She has not seen him since June 2008 and now he is taking me to court for 50% placement and wanting to claim her on his taxes. He owes about $4000 in back child support. He does not pay for health insurance, daycare, clothing , or any of her expenses...but I do! He has serious anger management issues and I am very nervous about my daughter going any where with him. What are the chances of the judge granting his request?

Tonee

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Written by Toni

Posted on 04/14/2009

See all posts by Toni

Comments:

Not likely, he may be able to sue for general visitation or shared custody which I wouldn't worry about anyway. If she has been with you the entire time it is not likely that any judge would snatch her from you to give to him so dont panic. In order for a custdial parent to file a child on his taxes he has to show and prove that the child lived with him and was financially supported by him for AT LEAST 6 mos. and 1 day of LAST YEAR. I dont know your B/D but most often times a father seeks visitation it means nothing, he already has joint custody of the child from birth. Suing for visitation only means he is mandating a set schedule when he can see the child and no court will let him file her as a dependant especially if he is behind on child support. He is just "woofin' girl. Men are something else, I'm not speaking of all men, but some men in these situation make all that fuss to keep from paying up and make it worse for themselves in the long run. I went through this with my oldest daughter and her father. I got pregnant under age and he didnt want anything to do with me. He requested a paternity test for a while and I granted it to him when she was four. The had an on and off relationship for a while but for the most part he "flaked out" on everything but she still wanted to see him. So one time he tried to pull some crap like that and I went to get her from his house and we didnt call him for a while, I didnt need him my husband was taking care of her. He looked for us for a long time and as time went on and a few things changed they had a better relationship and he pays for things regularly now. She is 13 now and she told me a couple of years ago that deep down she know her dad did some wrong but she still wanted to see him and her other siblings she just was scared to say so and hurt my feelings. So I had to push past my own feelings and do what was best for her. Things got better and I am still surprised at how close they have become.

posted by Brandy on 04/15/2009

Thanks for your reply. This is the 2nd time he has tried to take me to court but I am just a little tired of all this nonsense. Plus I am planning my wedding right now and i don't really nedd or want the stress of it. I know things will work out for the best.

posted by Toni on 04/20/2009

First of all relax!! The courts do not rush into anything. You have the fact that you have always had custody and the law doesn't move quickly.

I just realized you posted this two months ago. Hopefully the wedding planning is going well as is everything else.

You should head over to the freeadvice legal forums.
you can find it under forums . freeadvice . com
(remove the spaces)
Just remember to read the sticky note and be polite. there are lawyers who work in family law who post on that site and can guide you to the best possible outcome.

posted by Rachel on 07/02/2009

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