She has my child and is getting a substantial amount

by Peter

My legal rights to my child.

This is just a nightmare that no parent should ever have to deal with. I have been divorced since 2002 both my X and I remarried in 2003. She has primary residency but we have joint legal custody.

I lost my job about 6 years ago and have worked retail ever since - at most I was making 19/hr but that is just the last 2 years and my last company just went out of business. SO no job but I started going to school to get my Masters to teach special education.

XW has a lawyer - in this state you have to pay a lawyer $2500 up front for any CS modification. I do not have that kind of money if I did I would have paid my X - I am currently ordered to pay 300/mo to arrears on top of the original $500/mo order which is back when our son was in daycare he is 11 now.

I was just recently agreed that our son not stay in this residence for a number of HER reasons AND that she is going after sole legal custody now but no grounds have been given only that in exchange to giving her sole custody that she would agree to drop CS to $100/mo for 18 months only to have it go to 800/mo (what it is now) with no review or new order.

I can not afford and attorney - she is mad because I am an involved father. I get my son religiously and have made arrangements to still get him although he is not to be in my house overnight. I sign him up for activities at my home which if she has sole legal I will not have the rights to do that. She will be able to take my son out of the country without my permission *she is from SA and her current husband is from Europe.

The lawyers in this country have made it a crime to be a non-custodial parent and you get ZERO help from the courts their answer is always we can not give any advice even in asking what forms to file. There is no help for any one to go pro se. Mediation that was a joke as she walked out - and refused to even sign what we agreed on.

About to lose my son - courtesy of a lawyer and our economy.