No money for Child Support, But Money For Attorney's

by Samantha
(Texas)

Me and my ex have a support order in place as well as a visitation order. But when it all started seven years ago everything was good. He made the first month payment on time and he would even pick his daughter up on the weekends he was supposed to.

Then after Christmas of 2004 he decided that he would only get her when it was convenient for him. On Friday he would call early and want to pick her up as soon as she was out of school. Then come Saturday or Sunday he would call with some excuse and say that he needed to bring her back early. No problem I will just rearrange my schedule to fit yours.

No big deal. He did that for about six months and then one day told me he was going to work out of town and he would not be able to get her. He would call me when he was back in town. Well two years later he decided he was back and wanted to see her again, but instead of talking to me about his decision he right away hired an attorney and said I refused his visitation rights. So then for another six months we were in and out of court.

The judge decided since it had been so long that he had seen her that we would go for two months with him picking her up on Thursday evening for 2 hours and then the first, third, and fifth Saturday of every month for 6 hours. Well the first two Thursday he made it but then it camer time for a Saturday visit and what did he do. Want to change the times of course, but I was already tired of playing his games so I said NO. Remind you when I showed up for court he was not there just his lawyer and she agreed for the times were good.

So like a baby he did not pick her up anymore that time. Then when those two months were over we go back to court and of course he tells the judge I refused again. So for another two months same thing only no Thursday visits just Saturdays. The first two Saturdays for his visits he showed up on time. After that nothing. Not even a phone call with any kind of excuse. But I am always the one not letting him see his child. Not only that he claims he is self employed so child support is based on minimum wage and he has no money to pay his child support but he keeps taking me to court for "refusing his visitations" and he always has a lawyer fighting for him. I can not afford a lawyer so I have to fight for myself. And he still can not pay his child support. But he is still out free as a bird treating me like I am the bad guy.