When me and my ex seperated I was given physical cusotdy with us sharing joint custody. I did a hardship tour to Korea and 4 days after my departure her mother sued me for custody. I was given a choice of returning home or lose custody of my daughter. As the Army would not allow me to return home, the courts gave physical custody to my ex-wife.
Come June, I will be PCSing to Japan for the next 3 years. My daughter, who is now 14 years old, has expressed a desire to live with me in Japan. Her mother is not agreeing to this.
There have been issues with visitation since I PCSed to Georgia in 2006, to the point that my current wife sued my ex-wife for denied visitation this past June, during my deployment to Iraq. At that time, my wife requested a Guardian-Ad-Litem be appointed to my daughter, to assure that her best interests were represented.
During a visit home last month, my daughter expressed an interest in speaking to the GAL alone without her mother's presence, as well as the judge. She stated that during a prior visit, she sat at the table with the GAL and her mother and felt she could not speak openingly without suffering the consequences. We informed the GAL of this and he stated that he would not speak with her without her mother's consent. She is not going to allow this. I can not even speak to my daughter without her sitting there listening to the conversation.
There have been several issues with the current visitation order in which she fails to follow it or alters it to her convenience. I am concerned that once I PCS, she will stop visitation altogether and without returning to the states, I will be unable to do anything about it. Unfortunately, the Army is not going to allow me leave to constantly deal with this issue. She has already set a precedence of suing me every time I have to leave the country.
I currently have a court date set for May 19, to amend the current visitation order but when I spoke with the GAL about obtaining custody, he stated we should hire a lawyer.
Come June, I will be PCSing to Japan for the next 3 years. My daughter, who is now 14 years old, has expressed a desire to live with me in Japan. Her mother is not agreeing to this.
There have been issues with visitation since I PCSed to Georgia in 2006, to the point that my current wife sued my ex-wife for denied visitation this past June, during my deployment to Iraq. At that time, my wife requested a Guardian-Ad-Litem be appointed to my daughter, to assure that her best interests were represented.
During a visit home last month, my daughter expressed an interest in speaking to the GAL alone without her mother's presence, as well as the judge. She stated that during a prior visit, she sat at the table with the GAL and her mother and felt she could not speak openingly without suffering the consequences. We informed the GAL of this and he stated that he would not speak with her without her mother's consent. She is not going to allow this. I can not even speak to my daughter without her sitting there listening to the conversation.
There have been several issues with the current visitation order in which she fails to follow it or alters it to her convenience. I am concerned that once I PCS, she will stop visitation altogether and without returning to the states, I will be unable to do anything about it. Unfortunately, the Army is not going to allow me leave to constantly deal with this issue. She has already set a precedence of suing me every time I have to leave the country.
I currently have a court date set for May 19, to amend the current visitation order but when I spoke with the GAL about obtaining custody, he stated we should hire a lawyer.
