I may need to file a lawsuit...

In My Humble Opinion
21

I’m not a lawyer and I don’t know your state laws. That said, I’d pursue the lawyer.

CPS in your state most likely has a certain minimum number of actions that they have to take when they receive a complaint. Getting a lawyer to contact them and let them know you’re now represented may not eliminate all of the grief, but it could get them to make things much more cursory.

You might also find that you can have an injunction put in place without too much trouble or expense. If she’s on a fixed income she probably can’t afford someone to fight it. Maybe you’ll get your dream scenario and she’ll show up in court acting like a lunatic. Either way, you’ll have done something that’s important to improving your situation. You see, right now she gets a free roll at causing you grief whenever she wants. It doesn’t cost her any time, trouble or money to pick up the phone and screw with your family. Any decent lawyer is going to try to shift it to where the default situation is you being left alone.

Find someone you trust who got divorced and was happy with their lawyer. If they don’t handle this kind of law, they’ll know somebody who does. Don’t pick one off of an ad. Word of mouth only. Your first consultation will most likely be free and last an hour. At worst, it’ll cost you $100. Any more than that and you’re at the wrong place. Good luck.

22

kayaker: landline went down the memory hole three years ago. At least one of my kids thinks she’d really love to change schools… having been the new kid about four times and hating it, I suspect it would be a less than entirely positive event, though I’ll discuss it with the family.

Rachellogram: I’m a stick-in-the-mud, really. I moved, with my family, 8 times I can remember. Hated it. Escaped from mom, with all my worldly possessions in my truck, at 18, and never really want to move again. Add in the detail that hubby’s mom spent over half of her working life to pay for this farm, and I have plenty of incentive to stick.

As for crazy, psycho, yep, absolutely. Full-fledged white knight syndrome. Saddest part is, for decades there, her manic episodes would last maybe a week or two, spend a bit in the hospital to get re-attached to earth, and be as fine as she ever was for months or years onward. I miss that, truly.

JerrySTL: Third lawyer’s number finally had a live person answering, but five hours later, no callback. Guess I’ll keep trying numbers on Monday.

Iggy: Very disheartening, but I see what you’re saying. I’d really rather hope she can get back to a state of at least relative sanity.

The school knows, but I think they are still suffering from some remaining compassion.

I was informed that calls to DCF are, by definition, protected, and cannot be used as evidence. But calls to the sheriff are not.

Maybe that’s what I did wrong on my PFH. I listed me AND the kids. Maybe I need to just do one for the kids, and perhaps a separate one for myself. Thank you, that may help me.

RNATB: Beginning that path…

Lucky: Word of mouth, you say… (doesn’t help that last time mom got divorced, I typed up the paperwork for her to self-file, no lawyer involved whatsoever) I’ll try to think of someone I know who got divorced. I’m sure I should know somebody…