Sole Custody & Safety Focused Parenting Plan

by Yvonne from Wesley Chapel, Florida, Pasco County

My ex husband has not been paying child support for 7 years. I tried to keep him out of jail by allowing him to not have to pay through the courts.

Since I have filed to have him reinstated to make the payments to the state he has been trying to get the children taken from me.

He has filed to have his lifetime restraining order lifted (denied), he has tried to have an emergency pick up citing a 911 call during an argument with my now husband (denied), he has repeatedly called DCF accusing me of abusing my children.

All the while has not even attempted to see the children or call them until my son asked me to call his dad. Within 2 minutes the father told my son that I have been keeping him from them.

That is not true. My daughter (10) is afraid to go and visit him, my son (8) only wants to go because the father has a go cart that he lets him drive.

What can I do to stop the harassment through the courts and through DCF? This man is threatening my whole family with this. I have two other children that are not his that are affected by all of this mess. Please help.

Answer to Florida Child Custody Question

Dear Yvonne,

The good news is that it sounds as if neither the courts, law enforcement, nor DCF, are listening to your ex.

Since you have a "lifetime restraining order" against him, I can only guess that it must have been ordered because of domestic violence.

If there was domestic violence in your marriage you can file a Supervised Safety Focused Parenting Plan, Form 12.995(b).

The Supervised Safety Focus Parenting Plan form and other Florida family law forms for pro se litigants can be found on the Florida Supreme Court's website, www.flcourts.org

When you file the Supervised Parenting Plan you should also file a Supplemental Petition for Modification of Child Custody Time-Sharing and Other Relief, Form 12.905(a).

The Supplemental Petition must be based on changed circumstances; and those changed circumstances are changes affecting any of the parties – you, your ex, or the children.

From what you wrote, it doesn't sound as if he has always harassed you. So that sounds like a changed circumstance to me.

Within the Supervised Safety Focused Parenting Plan you can request sole custody of your children. Sole custody does not relieve your ex of the obligation of paying child support. You can also request supervised visitation.

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