QLD Final orders- What can I do when the mother of my children constantly breaches orders?

[Keith Barrass]

I have had full care of my two sons for the past 3 years when the mother handed them over to me they were aged 2 & 5 at the time now 5 & 8 the mother had very little to no contact with them until earlier this year when she applied to the court for final orders needless to say with her lack of involvement in the boys lives she did not get the 50-50 care she asked for she was granted visitation every second weekend and half-holidays. At first, her weekends started Friday after school until Monday morning before school drop off until it was discovered she had relocated 300km away and the boys were getting up at 4 am to go to school she has not been consistent with keeping to her visitations. She has never contributed in any financial way regarding schooling or clothing, not even child support somehow I still pay her child support. There have been times I have been busy and unable to answer her phone calls or messages straight away so she would call the school and ask them to call me, two weeks ago she picked the boys up early from school on Friday then messaged me later that afternoon and said she would not be returning them as she didn't think it was safe due to neighbors arguing at the end of my street. I currently do not have a lawyer but legal aid did send her a letter suggesting it would be in her best interest if she returned the children and she did a week later. Even though it states in the orders that each parent is responsible for making decisions regarding the children's day to daycare during the times the children are in their care she is demanding she has contact numbers and addresses if the children are to spend time at friends or families houses and when she is refused she threatens to go back to court. Is there anything i can do to prevent her from just taking my children again and not returning them.

 

[sammy01]

ok so what are the current care arrangements since she moved 300km away?

No court can make an order for a twit to stop being a twit. So hopefully the letter from legal aid will stop her from just picking up the kids for a week.

Child support? why are you still paying her? you need to look into that. There is no reason based on what you've written above to lead me to think you should be paying her.

She can demand phone numbers and addresses of the kids friends. But it doesn't mean you have to provide them.

Can you stop her from taking the kids and not returning them? no. The cops will tell you they won't get involved and there isn't a govt agency (kinda) that has that power. BUT if it continues you can seek amended court orders to prevent this sort of BS. But you really wanna avoid court.

So my final piece of advice is not legal advice (kinda). More life experience. Be strong. It sounds like this woman has you pretty beaten emotionally. Mate you've done well. So be assertive, be strong and realise that if it comes to it, and lets hope it doesn't, but if it comes to it, your kids will be returned within a few weeks IF she were to pull that stunt again and the magistrate making that call will be making it clear to her that she is a problem. So there isn't anything you can do, but the system will sort her out pretty quickly if she wants to continue to defy the orders.