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| Posted By: |
Shaun on 2010-07-13 07:47:28 (Report this Post) |
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| Subject |
Co-parenting - Help needed |
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I am in the process of going through a divorce. It was supposed to be an amicable breakup but has turned ugly.
We have an 8 year old little girl that suffers from Apraxia of speach. A condition where the child understands spoken Language for the most part but has difficulty verbalizing in sentences. My soon-to-be x-wife wants to take Klara to live In Mossel Bay. She currently lives and works in Gauteng and has done so for over 10 years. Her mother, a 70 year old lady
With severe high blood pressure / heart issues lives by herself in Mossel Bay. The x-wife wants to stay with her mother and Klare in the Mossel Bay family home. Klara requires a remedial school for her condition. The x advised there is such a school and adequate medical personnel available in Mossel Bay. I disagree.
Visitation over the past year of separation has gone from daily, to weekends, to seeing Klara dropped off on a Saturday morning And collected on a Sunday afternoon. No notification of these changes where forthcoming from the x-wife over said same period. We received a letter from her attorney yesterday advising Chloe would now be dropped off on a Saturday, collected on Saterday afternoon and the same schedule applied on Sunday (Visitation every 2nd weekend)
A draft maintenance agreement was drawn up in June 2009. After much discussion, I received an email from the X advising she was happy with the monthly amounts, most of which where, and continue to be paid directly to the service providers (school, med aid etc)
A cash component of R1500.00 is, and has been paid to the X every month since the separation. Yesterdays letter from her attorney now wants the cash component changed to R6k per month and continuation of the service providers payments also continued.
My questions are really what ‘are my chances’ of ‘winning’ this case and keeping the original status-quo in place? In short, is my attorneys opinion that we will ‘win’ valid in reality? What advice would you give to ensure this process continues in favour of Klara having the same visitation rights as before? What are the chances in *reality* of the x being able to move Klara to Mossel Bay?
In short, I am absolutely desperate to keep my little girl and ensure the very best for her.
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Posted on: Fathers-4-Justice South Africa - http://www.f4j.co.za/ - IP Address Logged |
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| Reply Posted By: |
Charles on 2010-07-13 18:55:06 (Report this Post) |
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| Subject |
RE: Co-parenting - Help needed |
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Under the new Children's Act, effective 1 April 2010, your ex wife may indeed move to Mossel Bay - BUT she may NOT take your daughter with her. She will then have to leave your daughter with you. Moving away and taking your daughter with her (i.e. away from you) constitutes Child Abuse under the new act.
Check that your attorney is au fait with this new act - it's the best thing that could ever have happened for us fathers.
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| Reply Posted By: |
Shaun on 2010-07-13 21:10:16 (Report this Post) |
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| Subject |
RE: Co-parenting - Help needed |
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Thank you for the feedback. But even with the new Childrens Act, surely it can't simply be an 'automatic' process whereby my X can't remove Klara to Mossel Bay? It sounds to good to be true. I presume the same legal processes have to be adhered to in terms of the courts deciding what is best for the child? My attorney comes highly recomended, Elizabeth Cardona (Cardona and Ass)
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| Reply Posted By: |
Charles on 2010-07-14 18:47:29 (Report this Post) |
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RE: Co-parenting - Help needed |
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If I were you, I'd check with Gary (P.R.O. of F4J) - attorneys generally don't care about the children, just about how much they can charge you. Which is why there is so much litigation. But there ARE some out there who put the children first, and F4J knows who they are...
Here's a tip - under the new act, both parents MUST agree to mediation, or they can be charged with a criminal act. Has your attorney mentioned this?
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| Reply Posted By: |
Shaun on 2010-07-15 07:31:00 (Report this Post) |
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| Subject |
RE: Co-parenting - Help needed |
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Charles,
Thanks for the feedback.
I am currently going through the Act myself and will draft a letter to my attorney.
I will certainly take up your recommendation of contacting FFJ P.R.O
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