My ex left last year to live in NZ. We have no custody of children orders or a parenting plan in place. I have our LO 100% of the time.
Ex is overdue on child support. He Skypes LO every 1.5 weeks to 2 weeks for 15min, he never makes contact with me to ask any questions about LO at all. He did come out for a week to visit but he saw him for three hours each day and stayed in accommodation over 2 hours away so he could actually just be closer to friends and party, on the whole he really isn't overly involved.
Basically I just want sole custody so I can just get on with raising our 4-year-old without every having to get his approval for anything. I basically do that anyway but as he gets older, things become more official, like enroling him for school and traveling to certain countries that require official documentation that I can take him out of the country on my own.
I don't want to cut off dad's contact or do anything to affect the limited relationship they have, which was his choosing - he has the exact access he asked for.
I know if I file, he will immediately go on the defensive as that's what he does. His family will become overly involved and demand he fight for that to not happen, because basically he is only involved due to his family insistence, etc and if I talk to him about all of this, he will probably agree but his family will basically spend a week in his ear and then he no longer agrees with anything that we had discussed and we and up at square one again!
I guess I just want some help if there is a way to provide my LO and I with more security and also just let me get on with life without having to ask his father for anything.
Ex is overdue on child support. He Skypes LO every 1.5 weeks to 2 weeks for 15min, he never makes contact with me to ask any questions about LO at all. He did come out for a week to visit but he saw him for three hours each day and stayed in accommodation over 2 hours away so he could actually just be closer to friends and party, on the whole he really isn't overly involved.
Basically I just want sole custody so I can just get on with raising our 4-year-old without every having to get his approval for anything. I basically do that anyway but as he gets older, things become more official, like enroling him for school and traveling to certain countries that require official documentation that I can take him out of the country on my own.
I don't want to cut off dad's contact or do anything to affect the limited relationship they have, which was his choosing - he has the exact access he asked for.
I know if I file, he will immediately go on the defensive as that's what he does. His family will become overly involved and demand he fight for that to not happen, because basically he is only involved due to his family insistence, etc and if I talk to him about all of this, he will probably agree but his family will basically spend a week in his ear and then he no longer agrees with anything that we had discussed and we and up at square one again!
I guess I just want some help if there is a way to provide my LO and I with more security and also just let me get on with life without having to ask his father for anything.