Success!
Yesterday afternoon was our custody conference and it went well! BM was filing for primary custody and my SO was filing for shared custody. The conference officer took a look at all our journals, calendars, and financial notes and agreed that BM was basically trying for a money grab. BM made herself look pretty bad. She lost her temper, cried, talked only in absolutes... Her lawyer even had to pull her aside to tell her to stay quiet!
She awarded us with shared custody, nullified the support orders she pushed for, and even added a point to the order that if she tried to file for support again, she'd automatically have to pay us for support! There also will be no more withholding of the kids! There is a concrete schedule in place where we can finally know exactly when we have the kids. We can finally make plans to continue on with our lives. If she tries to withhold them again, the custody officer noted to her that she would be jeopardizing her rights to see them in the future. The custody officer also put in the order that my SO and she must attend family counseling to work out the vast differences in parenting styles and financial particulars... but all things considered, I think that's a small price to pay. Not necessarily looking forward to listening to her constantly complain in counseling, but I'll hope the counselor will see through her the same way the custody officer did.
Hurray! There's a leash on the crazy! Here's hoping we can finally get to working on what's best for our family.
Excellent Im cheering for
Excellent Im cheering for you, a big success, I agree the counsellor will surely see through her bullshit lol.
Why would you have to hear
Why would you have to hear her complain in counseling? It's for the bio-parents. If you even THINK about going to those sessions you are not thinking clearly. It doesn't matter how long you have been married or how often you will have the kids, this is between the two of them. If you want ANYTHING constructive to happen there, do NOT go with him.
Oh goodness, no! You're
Oh goodness, no! You're right! Last thing I would want to do is go! That drama gets to be his fun, not mine. I'll have put up with her complaints secondhand and that's fine by me. This is a far cry from her barging into our home (which she has, on numerous occasions), chronic calls/texting to complain, etc. She was informed that communication needs to be strictly with him. This was a big win for both of us. If she wants to air grievances, she'll get to do it with my SO and a family counselor, not to everyone she comes in contact with.