Nobody wants to get divorced or split up and have a child custody or support issue, but it happens.  It’s nice when things can be amicable, but the reality is that is not always the case even when things start off friendly.  Lots of times games are played.  Tell me if any of the following sounds familiar:

– You agreed on a child support amount but now your ex isn’t making payments.

– It’s your turn to have the kids and now your ex is making excuses about why you can’t have them or is asking for something in return even though that has nothing to do with your agreement.

– Your ex now has another kid with a different person and wants to lower child support because of their new expenses.

– You have a new significant other and your ex is jealous and taking it out on you by trying to not allow visitation or making false allegations.

– It’s time for your kid to come home and your ex says they are keeping them.

A lot of times this happens after verbal agreements.  I get why people do that.  You don’t want a battle and lawyers and court can be expensive.  So you make a verbal agreement. The problem with that is that those agreements are not enforceable in court.  So you really are rolling the dice if you don’t make an agreement official by the approval of a Judge.

Even sometimes when there is a court order, feelings get hurt or games get played and one party to the case doesn’t follow the court order. When that does happen though, it’s much easier to solve your problem.  For example, if the custody order says your child is to be home by 5 p.m. and it’s 6 p.m., the police will help you retrieve your child. If your ex has decided they no longer want to pay child support, not only can you go back to court and have them held in contempt, it’s likely that the Judge will order them to pay your attorney fees too.

The bottom line on all of this is that the best and really only way to stop someone who is playing games is to make sure that your court orders are crystal clear.  It doesn’t hurt either to have an attorney who will fight for you in your corner.  A lot of ex’s can be bullies and we have a good track record of stopping people from playing games.  We can’t promise a case result, but do promise no family law attorney we recommend will get intimidated or pushed around.

If you have questions or would like to discuss a case, please call us any time at 312-346-5320 for a free consultation.