Does your jurisdiction permit people to make use of marijuana recreationally? Or to make use of it with a doctor’s prescription or a “medical marijuana card”? If so, then smelling of marijuana may not be enough to cause a court concern.
Otherwise, did you bring your ex smelling of marijuana to the court’s attention? You certainly could have. If you have another court hearing or other appearance coming up, and if your ex shows up smelling of marijuana again, you can certainly speak up and express your concern that your ex may be making illegal use of marijuana and/or abusing marijuana.
I am a father who has exercised at least 50/50 custody with my ex. Now she’s trying to take me to court for full custody and me getting every other weekend visits. How can I avoid losing 50/50 custody?
First, thank your lucky stars you are a father who currently has 50/50 custody of his children. Far, far too many fit and loving fathers who could easily exercise joint equal physical custody of their children and whose children would do nothing but benefit from the exercise of joint equal custody are needlessly and unjustifiably denied a joint equal child custody award by courts who simply cannot bring themselves to believe, much less conceive of, the idea that children being reared by both parents equally is better than relegating one parent to second class visitor status in his child’s life.
Second, the fact that you have been exercising at least 50–50 custody of your children for the past few years helps to make it much harder for your ex to build a case against you for modifying the child custody award in a manner that deprives both father and children of a 50–50 custody schedule. Again, be grateful this is the case, because if you were trying to win 50–50 custody of your children on the first go around during your divorce or other child custody legal action, the odds are grossly stacked against fit and loving fathers.
Third, if you are afraid that your judge is going to discriminate against you on the basis of sex, you need to understand this principle: “if it isn’t close, there cheating won’t matter.” Otherwise stated, you need to ensure that you win six ways from Sunday. you have to bring overwhelming amounts of evidence and proof into court, so that you leave the judge no option but to rule in your favor. Easier said than done, certainly, but now is not the time to become complacent or substitute hope for effort. Spare no expense to preserve your joint equal physical custody award. A necessary component of a winning case is that you are living a life beyond reproach. Get your house in order. If there is anything remotely amiss in your life, correct course immediately, clearly, and permanently.
Fourth, make sure you understand and that your attorney understands what statutory and case law factors and criteria govern the original child custody award and a petition to modify the original child custody award. It may be that your ex does not have sufficient grounds for a petition to modify child custody to survive a motion to dismiss.
Fifth and finally, do not take on a petition to modify child custody alone, without a vigilant and skilled attorneys assistance. There is an undeniable culture of bias and discrimination and prejudice against fathers when it comes to courts making child custody awards. This doesn’t mean that every judge in every court indulges in sexual discrimination against father, but it’s virtually impossible to tell the difference between an impartial judge and a biased one, and so you need an attorney who will not suffer fools gladly, who will defend the joint equal custody award.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
If an ex uses illness to stop working, can she get more alimony?
Can being debilitated by illness be a reason for a spouse receiving alimony or more alimony than he/she would have received in the absence of the debilitating illness? Of course.
Merely being ill does not mean one will receive or receive more alimony than would have been received in the absence of the illness. Plenty of people have health troubles but hold full-time employment. One’s illness(es) must render one unable to support himself/herself, either fully or partially, before illness will result in more alimony being awarded, and even then, only if the spouse who would be paying alimony has the ability to pay the alimony and still meet his/her living expenses as closely to the standard living/lifestyle to which the parties were accustomed during the marriage.
And merely being able to prove “I am sick” or “I have X disease” won’t presumptively entitle you to alimony or “condition”-related alimony. The disease has to be debilitating despite your best efforts.
If you believe that you can fake an illness to get alimony or more alimony, that’s extremely difficult in today’s world. Amazing ways to verify or refute one’s claims to being disabled have been invented and are only getting more accurate.
If an ex uses illness to stop working, can she get more alimony?
Can being debilitated by illness be a reason for a spouse receiving alimony or more alimony than he/she would have received in the absence of the debilitating illness? Of course.
Merely being ill does not mean one will receive or receive more alimony than would have been received in the absence of the illness. Plenty of people have health troubles but hold full-time employment. One’s illness(es) must render one unable to support himself/herself, either fully or partially, before illness will result in more alimony being awarded, and even then, only if the spouse who would be paying alimony has the ability to pay the alimony and still meet his/her living expenses as closely to the standard living/lifestyle to which the parties were accustomed during the marriage.
And merely being able to prove “I am sick” or “I have X disease” won’t presumptively entitle you to alimony or “condition”-related alimony. The disease has to be debilitating despite your best efforts.
If you believe that you can fake an illness to get alimony or more alimony, that’s extremely difficult in today’s world. Amazing ways to verify or refute one’s claims to being disabled have been invented and are only getting more accurate.
I was divorced and lied to during my divorce and I am disabled can I take my ex back to court for spousal support?
Can you try? Yes.
Will you succeed? Probably not.
Unless you can prove (not persuade, but demonstrate by objectively, independently verifiable proof) that your ex-husband defrauded the court, you’re likely stuck with the decree and court orders you’ve got. This is extremely difficult in its own right. This is also extremely expensive and most people don’t have that kind of money.
My ex allows our children to watch TikTok. Is this grounds for seeking full custody?
I forbade my child from watching TikTok because I worry it lowers IQ.
However, my ex-spouse allows them to use it at their house. Is this child endangerment grounds for a lawsuit for full custody?
In my professional opinion (and remember, I’m not your attorney, I’m just sharing my opinion, so if you want to know what the law in your jurisdiction is and how it applies, consult a local attorney), no. Now if you could prove the child is watching pornographic TikTok videos or heinously violent TikTok videos while in the other parent’s care and custody or other videos that are so clearly inappropriate and harmful to child as to shock the conscience and cause a reasonable person to conclude that the child is clearly being seriously harmed as a result, then you may have grounds for asking a court to intervene and to take steps to protect the child, but that probably does not constitute sufficient not grounds for seeking sole legal and/or physical custody of the child.
How can I calm my nerves? I hired an attorney to help with my child custody case against my BPD ex. I’m so scared of what he will do when he finds out.
Know that hiring a good lawyer (a good lawyer, not just any lawyer) is one of the smartest things you could do for you, your nerves, and your children. Talk to people who didn’t hire an attorney in your circumstances, and they’ll tell you that you’ve done one of the best things that can be done. Great first step.
You’ll never fully rid yourself of the ignorance of the legal system and legal processes. So you will never fully rid yourself of the anxiety that flows from it. But (in no particular order):
getting a good attorney and listening to what your attorney tells you and doing as your attorney directs;
educating yourself on the process (it’s nothing like you think it is, so the more you know about how it works, the better you’ll be able to navigate it and leverage it to your and your children’s benefit);
having faith in God;
leaning on friends and family for support as necessary (without wearing out your welcome of course); and
staying vigilant
is the best medicine I can prescribe.
And one more thing: nothing helps you get your mind off your own plight and worries better than helping others in need and in pain.
How can I calm my nerves? I hired an attorney to help with my child custody case against my BPD ex. I’m so scared of what he will do when he finds out.
Know that hiring a good lawyer (a good lawyer, not just any lawyer) is one of the smartest things you could do for you, your nerves, and your children. Talk to people who didn’t hire an attorney in your circumstances, and they’ll tell you that you’ve done one of the best things that can be done. Great first step.
You’ll never fully rid yourself of the ignorance of the legal system and legal processes. So you will never fully rid yourself of the anxiety that flows from it. But (in no particular order):
getting a good attorney and listening to what your attorney tells you and doing as your attorney directs;
educating yourself on the process (it’s nothing like you think it is, so the more you know about how it works, the better you’ll be able to navigate it and leverage it to your and your children’s benefit);
having faith in God;
leaning on friends and family for support as necessary (without wearing out your welcome of course); and
staying vigilant
is the best medicine I can prescribe.
And one more thing: nothing helps you get your mind off your own plight and worries better than helping others in need and in pain.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277