their dad drinks all the time

I am in the middle of a custody battle. Our divorce has been final since 2-5-08. I was all for joint custody because I feel like my boys really need their dad. Since that time, their dad has really changed. We all moved back to Wisconsin from Arizona where the divorce was granted. Now I live in one city with one son and my ex lives in a city an hour away with my other son. He kept him from me after the move and just enrolled him in school so he couldnt stay with me. Lately all my ex does is talk about partying and drinking! My oldest son stays by his grandparents (with mental disabilities) all the time while he goes out. There is a CPS investigation going on because my kids have told me their dad drove drunk with them. My ex sees our youngest son everyother weekend, and at least one of those nights he leave them by his parents so he can go out and get drunk. We have a court hearing in less then a month. Right now we have no placement order here in Wisconsin. Would I be in contempt of court if I kept them with me until our court date?

[sunlover]

If there is no court order how can you be in contempt?

[Gbyte]

If an order was put in place in another state, you need to follow it as closely as you can.

[MenRparents2]

Originally Posted by Gbyte If an order was put in place in another state, you need to follow it as closely as you can.

No, if an order is in place in another state then you MUST FOLLOW that existing order until a new order is in effect.

As far as the drinking goes, it is sad b/c that is what my ex-wife does with my son. I am told that there is nothing I can do about it. If you get anywhere with it let me know.

[Gbyte]

Well... since they live in two different cities and an hour apart and each have custody of one child, I got the impression that this arrangement is a new thing. So, following the order exactly as it was written in the other state may be impossible. It needs to be re-done based on the present circumstances.

My ex goes out and gets drunk EVERY overnight "he" has my daughter. Fortunately, he doesn't come back until the next day around noon or 1. I call it grandparenting time. He's had me in court for 3 years - he's not spent 1 overnight with her or put her to bed in 6 months.

[MenRparents2]

I see what you are saying and it is hard being apart to make things work as previously determined in an order. I live over 1000 miles from my kid and I am modifying my agreement now as well.

As I said before that the past order must be followed until a new order is in place. You have stated this exact same thing in a different thread:

"If there is a schedule, it needs to be stuck to or modifications need to be agreed upon. "

Originally Posted by MenRparents2 "If there is a schedule, it needs to be stuck to or modifications need to be agreed upon. "

WOW! Good point! I see she is really not consistant now that you have pointed that. That is scary because she has posted thousands of replies trying to give advice to unknowing people.

She should should know that if you DON'T stick to a court order, you ARE in contempt of court. If you can't stick to it, you need to go to court before you take the law into your own hands.

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking you can "tweek" the order as you see the need to. She has stated several times that she his having MAJOR problems with her own ex-husband and can't really get her own situation right, so please take advice from someone who is making real progress in their own situation, and not a case of "misery loves company".

[Gbyte]

Originally Posted by MenRparents2 I see what you are saying and it is hard being apart to make things work as previously determined in an order. I live over 1000 miles from my kid and I am modifying my agreement now as well. As I said before that the past order must be followed until a new order is in place. You have stated this exact same thing in a different thread: "If there is a schedule, it needs to be stuck to or modifications need to be agreed upon. "

Modifications HAVE been "agreed" on in that they live an hour away. They need a new plan.

Previous post:
"following the order exactly as it was written in the other state may be impossible. It needs to be re-done based on the present circumstances."

That is essentially the same as previous posts - worded slightly different for a different situation.