Single mom, custody agreement help (x-post from parenting)

gottliebe1865ch

New member
submitted 1 hour ago by qnofclean

I was in a very controlling relationship for several years. We never married (which was a blessing in disguise) but we did have a kid together. Through the support of friends and family I was able to break free. However I was pregnant. When I finally got away (mostly just out of his house, still same town), he started to become much nicer to me. Wanting to go to appts and "be" a part of the child's life. He was never really physically abusive towards me (only smacked me a couple times), just always needed to be in control of who I could see, what I could do, so I thought it was ok.

Fast forward to the delivery date, some promises were made and broken, about a week before hand threats were made and I didn't really want him in the hospital with me. He came anyways. I had my daughter and for the two days I was there, he did a 180. I thought maybe that was what he needed finally. He had arranged for me to come stay with him (my family was out of town). So we pack up and get ready to go and that's when I find out he has a new girlfriend. Which is fine, we were broken up. But she's living with him. So I tell him I'm not staying with him. Instead I go stay with my sister. He flips shit and doesn't come around for the first few weeks. But he keeps insisting on a paternity agreement.

During this time a few things the reader should know, I'm a poor college student living with family, working as a waitress. I didn't intend to get pregnant at all, though I love my daughter. Her dad is a professional that makes decent money, has no other kids or responsibilities and can pay for most anything within reason. He kept hounding me about the paternity test and custody agreement and that he would file one without me if we didn't agree to one and then I would be screwed. I believed him. So we sat down and did an agreement. I wasn't happy with the arrangements, but I figured it was better than not having any say at all. I really regret signing it.

Now fast forward 6 months. He's being inconsistent with the agreement. Changing pick up times, not showing up to get her, tried a few times to send his gf over to get her (I refused). I really don't know where to go from here. I feel like I'm trapped and I hate that. I feel like he still has control over me because of my child and I don't know how to break that. I really want to go back to court/lawyer and fix the agreement but I don't know if what he's been doing is substantial enough. I can't really afford a lawyer right now, but income tax is right around the corner and I might then. So do any other parents out there have any helpful advice?

Some things to add - Our agreement (I believe) is 50/50. I do not receive child support. It was done with a lawyer (not in front of a judge) who submitted it to the courts.
 
@gottliebe1865ch I'm not sure where you live... but in my state, child support is not decided by who has the child more... rather it is determined by how much each parent makes and what they contribute. You already have the right idea: go see a lawyer ASAP. I believe there are some with free consultations. Start writing down EVERYTHING that happens (more importantly when he goes against the agreement in any way). Be careful of what you post on the internet, but you may want to check out /r/legaladvice (create a throwaway). Your situation sounds very frustrating... from what you've said about your ex, legal help is your best bet.
 
@loveisanaction3 This is a throwaway. I do know that I found out a while back anything that he posts on facebook is viable in court if I have the complete conversation. So there are a few pictures I have of messages that I think could help my case (from way back when we still lived together).
 
@gottliebe1865ch The agreement may be binding and a pain in the ass to change or it might not be worth the paper it's written on. The devil is in the details, so your first step is take your agreement and all related details to a lawyer; you can usually get a free consultation, which should be enough to get an idea of where you currently stand.

Assuming that the agreement is binding, realize that you are obliged to follow it and so is he. If his parenting time is supposed to start at 7 p.m. every other friday, then 7 p.m. every other friday it is. The two of you are free to deviate from the schedule whenever you like, but only if both parties agree to it. In other words, you don't have to tolerate the inconsistencies. You should be reasonable about it, of course, but feel free to push back when he's not living up to the terms of the agreement.
 
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