My client’s ex was an absentee father. As soon as his newest girlfriend was in the picture, he tried to get more time with his child to impress the new girlfriend. It is worth noting that gaining more time with the child would also reduce the amount of his child support, giving him more money to spend on his new girlfriend.
The mother came to us for help. Fortunately, she kept good notes. We were able to show the court that:
• The father was not following the current visitation schedule
• The father routinely tried to dictate terms and conditions of visitation.
• The father responded childishly when the mother refused to agree to his last-minute demands for changes in the visitation schedule.
Once we presented the father’s behavior to the court, we were able to:
• Block his attempts to get his visitation extended.
• Eliminate visitations that Father was not exercising.
• Eliminate visitations in which the father routinely returned the child after the child’s bedtime on school nights.
• Get further conditions placed on his visitations.
In addition, we convinced the court to require the father to pay $1,000 toward the mother’s attorney fees for his failure to meet and confer.
