mother moving against court order

[techiet]

I posted before, but it was quite long - so I've decided to post a more concise version of the story in hopes of receiving a reply.

So here's the deal - I'm divorced and with a 5 yr old child, and my ex wife is the primary. We have Joint custody but my son lives with her. An evaluation showed that he has only developed to the level of a 2 1/2 year old especially in speech. He was 2 1/2 when we separated and she took him to Houston shortly thereafter, not allowing me to see him for some 3 months. She moved back when she lost her job, and we got the divorce paperwork set. She can't leave Ellis (or contiguous) county, but she informed me a couple of days ago that she was moving back to Houston that very night, to move in with her boyfriend who she claims is a "thug" which she has always said she wants. I was already planning on calling CPS and/or talking to a judge about her responsibilities, because she was living with her parents (5 people in the house, none with jobs including her) and would make trips to Houston when it was my weekend with my son, and every time called me on Sunday to tell me she wasn't going to be back in time to pick him up.

I don't have the money for another lawyer. What might be considered the best way to handle this? Looking for legal advice as well as any opinions on how to handle it. Thanks in advance.

(for more details, see my other post entitled "Mother leaving without notifying court")

 

[Duranie]

You pretty much need to file for custody. Call legal aid to see if you quality or start calling around to an attorney to see if they can help you. You might want to google a fathers rights group in TX to see if they can give you some guidance but most courts have a family court fascilitator or self help law library. You can stop the move but you need to get in front of a judge. You might want to inquire about filing for emergeny custody.

 

[techiet]

Thanks for your reply. This brings up another question. I currently live with my girlfriend. Also, I am of course paying child support as I have been from the beginning. If I didn't have to pay child support, I could afford day care and would be able to take him. My girlfriend works as well and she cannot watch my child while I'm at my 9-5, and we can't afford her quitting, nor would I want to put that responsibility on her.

Is there anything with emergency custody that would change the child support arrangements? I'd love to have him full time but it would be near impossible to do without stopping child support payments.