Does my ex wife have the right to give away custody?

[1frusterated]

Ok, strange situation here. My ex wife and I have joint custody with her being primary of our two daughters - which I have been completely shut out of their life (with the exception of child support). Today, I find out - that my youngest daughter no longer lives with her mother and is living with my brother and his wife - 40 miles away and enrolled at a new school. Does my ex wife have the right to give away custody just like that?

 

[army judge]

Ok, strange situation here. My ex wife and I have joint custody with her being primary of our two daughters - which I have been completely shut out of their life (with the exception of child support). Today, I find out - that my youngest daughter no longer lives with her mother and is living with my brother and his wife - 40 miles away and enrolled at a new school. Does my ex wife have the right to give away custody just like that?

No.

Your wife is mandated to obey the current custody order.

You should immediately engage the services of an attorney and attempt to regain control of your children.

i have no idea what your brother is thinking by keeping the child.

Hire a lawyer, get some answers, and save your children!!!!

 

[mightymoose]

Your brother has no custody rights.
Your wife is primary, but you have right of first refusal. If she was unable to care for your daughter then she should have come to you first... and had you refused she could have made other arrangements

 

[bluemann33]

Talk to attorney asap. Your child is no longer living with "mom" but I bet she is still getting the child support money.

 

[irish223]

Ok, strange situation here. My ex wife and I have joint custody with her being primary of our two daughters - which I have been completely shut out of their life (with the exception of child support). Today, I find out - that my youngest daughter no longer lives with her mother and is living with my brother and his wife - 40 miles away and enrolled at a new school. Does my ex wife have the right to give away custody just like that?

How long has it been since you've seen your daughters? How old are they?

 

[1frusterated]

Thank you all for your quick reply.
Now for the rest of the story - I'm currently going through the legal motions of getting my child support reduced - due to being unemployed for over a year. My ex has created this evil web of destruction, turning my children and my so called family against me. My children absolutely hate me and have no explanation as to why. My youngest daughter is 14 and going through difficult times - she has attempted suicide 2 times in the last 3 months and I have yet been able to talk to her. Since my ex was the one who took her to the emergency room, she created the "secret code with the hospital" which totally kept me from visiting my daughter - even with divorce decree paperwork in hand. My ex has changed cell phone numbers for herself and both my daughters 2 times in the last 4 months making communication difficult. Visitation or lack of, I have seen my children 3 times in 2010.

I plan to borrow the money for an attorney to fight this - even though I'm seriously concerned about the outcome. My daughter is better off with my brother than she is with her mother - the flip side, my brother is guilty of supporting the notion that the kids do not need their father - and my poor daughter is stuck in the middle of the whole stupid mess. My concern is mostly with the age of my daughter (14) and her having some say in where she resides.

Any advice on choosing an attorney in Fort Worth, TX?

 

[1frusterated]

It has been since April of 2010 since I seen my youngest. My daughters are 14 and 15.

I am somewhat at fault for not seeing my children. I have refused to get caught up with the constant games my ex likes to play. The biggest game is when I make plans for the weekend to see my kids and at the last minute my ex finds a way to bribe them into changing their plans. The kids are busy with their friends/school activities and I respect that.