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Hello, I am from North Dakota, and have two children with my ex-wife. I am remarried, and live about an hour away from my ex and my two daughters. My oldest daughter wants to come and stay with me and my current wife, as her and her mother do not get along at all. She has agreed to let me take her for the summer, around 90 days. She has sole physical custody of both my daughters, but we have Joint Legal Custody. Does my ex need to give me Temporary Custody of my daughter for her to come and live with me? And what do I need to do to have my child support stopped for the summer? If we each have one child, will child support kind of cancel each other out? My ex is refusing to sign anything regarding custody or stopped child support at this time, but I may be able to calm her down in that regard. What are my options? My daughter that wants to come and live with me is 9, what are the odds of me getting full custody of her? Thanks for your help.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: North Dakota Already Tried: Nothing yet.
Thank you for your question.If you wish to stop paying support for 90 days, then you may want to consider filing for a formal modification of custody since otherwise if the child is with you, your obligation to pay support remains. Only by obtaining custody would your child support be stopped or at least modified and lowered (since the other child will remain with your ex so you would still be responsible for support for the other child). Child support will not cancel each other out, the courts review the financial standing of each parent meaning that if you are a higher earner, then your share of support is larger. It would then follow that if you take one child to live with you, your support obligation would be lowered but not completely extinguished. A 9 year old does not have the ability to pick and choose for herself with whom she wishes. If the parents agree then custody can transfer, but otherwise custody would have to be granted by courts. As for whether or not you can get custody full-term, I cannot answer that with any certainty without knowing more about fitness of both parents and whether or not either of you as parents can care for the children adequately.Good luck.Dimitry Esquire41037.2505660532
What all does filing for a formal modification of custody entail? Is it something you have a lawyer draw up and then he sends it to me ex wife?
Thank you for your follow-up.My apologies but we here cannot draft documentation for you. However filing this petition is not terribly complicated--simply contact the clerk either at the county courthouse where the divorce decree and custodial order were recorded, or where the children reside now if different, speak to the clerk, and try to obtain a custodial packet directly from the clerk. If the clerk does not have the modification forms, he or she may point you to where you can find them online, or you can definitely obtain the templates at the local law library. Then file the documentation with the courts and request a hearing. The ex will be also informed and summoned to court where she will be able to contest the petition if she so wishes.Good luck.Dimitry Esquire41037.257315544
Experience: I provide family and divorce law advice to my clients in my firm.