Hello, I have two boys 6 and 8 and there father an I were to gather until Jan. 2009 then we had a fight that cause me to move out and only see the boys every other weekend for 6 months, since then I have had them every week half the time and it was legally applied last October. I am looking to relocate two different time once by the end of the summer to the other side of town to save money by renting and selling the condo I have now. And then next year summer end to north Georgia the schools are better, more culture and both some of my family and my ex in-laws live there so that I can at ten Emory university and transfer with my current job. Will I have a problem doing so? O I live in Florida and my divorce is not final yet.

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Originally Posted by Ktl577

Hello, I have two boys 6 and 8 and there father an I were to gather until Jan. 2009 then we had a fight that cause me to move out and only see the boys every other weekend for 6 months, since then I have had them every week half the time and it was legally applied last October. I am looking to relocate two different time once by the end of the summer to the other side of town to save money by renting and selling the condo I have now. And then next year summer end to north georgia the schools are better, more culture and both some of my family and my ex in-laws live there so that I can at ten Emory university and transfer with my current job. Will I have a problem doing so? O I live in Florida and my divorce is not final yet.

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I don't see why you moving across town would affect anything. However, moving from Florida to northern Georgia is going to affect your current custody arrangement. It's not realistic for you to move hundreds of miles away and still expect to have the children half of the time.

What does your current custody agreement state?

I'm sorry I want to have them full time not half and me moving across town would as well I would be on the border of another county that is an hr away. And there is not actual custody agreement just the time sharing is half that is all and that I said that he could have custodial parenting because the school that there were in is better than were I am now but I will be in a better school district now.

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Originally Posted by Ktl577

I'm sorry I want to have them full time not half and me moving across town would as well I would be on the border of another county that is an hr away. And there is not actual custody agreement just the time sharing is half that is all and that I said that he could have custodial parenting because the school that there were in is better than were I am now but I will be in a better school district now.

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I'm confused. Your initial post reads:

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Originally Posted by Ktl577

...since then I have had them every week half the time and it was legally applied last October.

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Now you're saying there's no "actual" custody agreement. I don't know what's going on because you're posting conflicting things.

A complication is that they're already enrolled in school - they have familiar surroundings and settings that they are accustomed to. You want to disrupt those settings by moving out of state. In order for the court to allow that, you'd have to prove WHY the children would be better off with you. Just saying you'd have access to a better school isn't enough - the court wants valid reasons and proof as to how the children would benefit if they were to be removed from their current lifestyle.

You can petition the court for primary physical custody. If the court does grant your request, you're going to have another fight down the road regarding the out-of-state move. You'll once again have to prove that the move is beneficial to the children - can you do that?

If there is currently a "court applied" agreement that the children split their time between you and the father, then you HAVE to go back to the court to get permission to move. If the father objects, then it is unlikely the courts will grant permission.

Is there a web site of some sort that I can look up things that I can do now to prepare for this custody fight to move me kids with me. @ this8384 I don't know what you or anyone might conceder a beneficial reason to move the boys, except that they deserve the best and I would be able to do that in Georgia, I would be able to buy, them a home with a yard, place them in a private school let them participate in sports and boy scouts that there father will not allow them to do now, and to be with me. I know that they Need both there mother and father since I had only one par tent myself but I feel like if I can give them better or more that I should be able to do so .

What you feel is best for the children may not be what the courts feel is best. And courts lean towards providing access to both parent. Even over material benefits (like a house and private schools). There should be several sites that give info on custody issues. This search
GA determing custody - Google Search
Shows several. But you really need a local attorney to know what the mood is for the local courts.

I can tell you that if a court already granted shared custody it would take a great deal of convincing to change that. One possibility is to grant generous visitation (summers, school holidays, etc. with travel at your expense) to convince the father to agree.

Thank you scottgem for the information. I do have a local lawyer but unfortunately I have not talked to him since last year, two weeks after the hearing until Friday of teo weeks ago to let me know that I have a mediation set for the 27 th, via text. I have contacted him via e-mail, text phone from my own personal ways and from separate emails phone numbers that he docent know but no response. I know I should get a new lawyer but I can't afford to hand out another $ 3,000 in full because my case is so far along. I would feather know what I am dealing with and how I can face everything that might come my way sine I can't talk to my lawyer. Again thank you so much for the site info.

You don't need to talk direct to your attorney, you can talk with someone in his office. But you tell your attorney, that if he doesn't respond to your questions you will report him to the local Bar assn and sue him for the return of your retainer.

He dose not have an office any more, and I have sent him a letter telling him that in January of this year, I still get the same treatment. If I start the process of going to the bar now I will be forced to hire some one now, and pay to sue my current lawyer and the new one I will need. I can't afford to. I was going to represent myself but to many people told me that I will lose my kids doing that and just hold out with the attorney that I have for now. But when every thing is over I will go to the bar and handle all of that.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Will do thank you again

I'm slightly confused. Your lawyer doesn't have an office? How does the court reach him? How do other lawyers reach him? Surely yours is not the only case he handles; he has to be accessible somehow. Try contacting the courthouse to see how they reach him.

Also, stop sending him e-mails and text messages. Call him and call him from YOUR number, not from random phone numbers or e-mails which, by your admission, he does not recognize. He has no confirmation the person on the other end is you and quite frankly, I would be doing the same thing he is doing.

Just to play the devil's advocate Scott, I think it's jumping the gun a bit to tell her to threaten her lawyer. She gave him $3,000 upfront - if he billed her for phone calls, drive time and court appearances, it's very feasible that he used up the retainer in a 2.5 year time frame.

The only reason I'm presenting the argument is that I've seen people request that court orders be vacated on the grounds that their attorney "didn't explain" what they were agreeing to, when clearly the attorney was advising them what to do to serve their best interests. Because it didn't work out the way they wanted, they turned around and blamed the attorney.

Respectful, ask questions before you assume. No, my lawyer dose not have an office, I would assume that they contact him via P.O.Box or cell phone, but I can confirm that with the court house by weeks end. I have called him from my number numerous times and I record every time I try to contact him as well, the reason I have used alternate numbers, emails and text is because I feel like he is dogging me, would you not feel the same way, after months of no contact? I call him on my number, then and alternate number, the email or text throughout the day to keep track of when I contact him. Again you assume that is what I gave him and up front, but that is not the case and if I did would you not advise your client that you have to do the same. Just ready for all this to be over sooner than later. I appreciate all the replies in assisting with this matter.

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Originally Posted by this8384

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Also, stop sending him e-mails and text messages. Call him and call him from YOUR number, not from random phone numbers or e-mails which, by your admission, he does not recognize. He has no confirmation the person on the other end is you and quite frankly, I would be doing the same thing he is doing.
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Quite frankly, if you were OP's lawyer, and if OP sent you e-mails and text messages, and if you simply ignored them, because you "had no confirmation the person on the other end is" the person she claimed to be, you would be putting yourself in serious trouble. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

Quite frankly, if you were OP's lawyer, and if OP sent you e-mails and text messages, and if you simply ignored them, because you "had no confirmation the person on the other end is" the person she claimed to be, you would be putting yourself in serious trouble. :rolleyes:

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She said she's been texting him from numbers and e-mail addresses that he doesn't recognize - you would release confidential information about your client's case to an anonymous person?

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Originally Posted by Ktl577

Respectful, ask questions before you assume. No, my lawyer dose not have an office, I would assume that they contact him via P.O.Box or cell phone, but I can confirm that with the court house by weeks end. I have called him from my number numerous times and I record every time I try to contact him as well, the reason I have used alternate numbers, emails and text is because I feel like he is dogging me, would you not feel the same way, after months of no contact? I call him on my number, then and alternate number, the email or text throughout the day to keep track of when I contact him. Again you assume that is what I gave him and up front, but that is not the case and if I did would you not advise your client that you have to do the same. Just ready for all this to be over sooner than later. I appreciate all the replies in assisting with this matter.

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The court has to be able to reach him. He has to have an address registered with the Bar Association in your state. Someone, somewhere, knows how to reach him by mail. Search for him here:
http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/MESearchDK?openform

I didn't "assume" what you gave him - you told us that you gave him a $3,000 retainer. We have no idea of knowing how much time he did or didn't spend on this case, how many motions he's drafted and/or filed, how many times he's traveled to and from the courthouse. All of those things chip away at your retainer and eventually become a balance you owe. We have no way of knowing if you paid him anything above and beyond the retainer.

Frankly, I don't know why your lawyer is avoiding you. Maybe you owe him money, maybe he's just a jerk. I don't know, because you haven't told us. Lawyers don't typically avoid paying clients.

All of that aside, you don't "need" a lawyer for this. If your ex has one, I'd strongly recommend having one for yourself - but even that doesn't guarantee you'll win.

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Originally Posted by this8384

She said she's been texting him from numbers and e-mail addresses that he doesn't recognize - you would release confidential information about your client's case to an anonymous person?

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Who said anything about releasing confidential information? If he receives a message from someone who claims to be his client he might reply by saying something like "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize this e-mail address. Can you prove you are the person whom you claim to be?"

He have to be an idiot to simply ignore it.

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

Who said anything about releasing confidential information? If he receives a message from someone who claims to be his client he might reply by saying something like "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize this e-mail address. Can you prove you are the person whom you claim to be?"

He have to be an idiot to simply ignore it.

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"Proving" who you are by e-mail is impossible. I could claim to be my husband simply because I know his date of birth, SSN, address, phone number and everything going on with his case. I'm quite positive his exwife could do the same and we'd be mighty upset to learn that his attorney shared details of our case with her simply because the attorney believed the person on the other end of the computer was him.

Again, we don't know the circumstances. We've got one side of the story. For all we know, she could owe him hundreds of dollars and is expecting him to keep working for her while she's not paying. Or it could be simply that he is, as you said, an idiot.