? about taking court action

Dear CamillaCat:

Greetings. First, what do you mean by DSS attending all dancing events? What is a DSS? Is that the Department of Social Services?

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax

10925 David Taylor Drive, Suite 100
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

I’m sorry…I realized I erred in my symbols after I submitted the post.

I meant to write “DSD” = Dear Step Daughter
But I wrote DSS which means Dear Step Son

Tks, I really appreciate any feedback.

Dear CamillaCat:

Greetings. Thanks for the clarification…different acronyms for different professions! Let’s get those questions answered now:

  1. Yes, you can get her held in contempt (depending on the clear language of your court order). Her behavior is not meant to foster love and affection between dad and the child, and I think you could have the court hold her in contempt if the language of your current order has anything to help you.

  2. No, she has no right to do this. This behavior runs perilously close to assault.

  3. Possibly. If the parties agree on the expenses, then maybe, although I don’t think it is likely that the court will order extra child support. She would have to request a deviation from the guidelines to get this.

  4. I would not worry so much about this, but about the ongoing hostility and in ability to parent together.

Thank you and good luck.

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax

10925 David Taylor Drive, Suite 100
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

Hi,
I am married to a man with a daughter from a previous relationship. We are ordered (and happily comply) that DSS must attend all dancing events.

We pay $565/mth CS and all insurance premiums. EX has been asking for more money, because my DSS’s extra-curricular dance activities have been getting very costly (due to DSS’s heavy involvement in dancing). We refuse, saying that DSS is getting involved in too much and it takes away so much time from our already limited visitation with her. EX gets mad that we won’t pay extra (mind you it wasn’t our decision to enroll her in so many activities) and says we can’t take pictures of DSS in her dance uniform since we don’t ‘appreciate’ the amount of money EX pays for dancing.

Last weekend (our regular court-ordered scheduled visitation weekend) my DSS had a dance competition. We attended DSS’s dance event, and after a dance skit, went outside to meet-up with DSS to congratulate her. My friend was there, and took out a cell phone to take a call. EX ASSUMES she is taking a picture with her cell phone, and proceeds to run up to my husband and rips DSS out of his arms, saying “we gotta go because Daddy can’t listen!”. She then proceeds to take DSS into the building. Basically, she took her away from us and made a scene in public (for such a silly reason) because she thought we were trying to take a picture of DSS after she told us we are not allowed to do so.

My questions are:

  1. We are tired of dealing with EX’s silly and uncalled for commotions, can we take this to court and somehow give her a ‘smack on her hands’ for making a scene in front of DSS?

  2. Did she have any right to do this?

  3. Will a judge order us to pay extra CS for such activities (they are expensive, they probably cost EX $450/mth). Keep in mind, we have no part of the decision that DSS attends such costly activities, but can a judge still force us to pay?

  4. Can we hold EX in contempt of court order since EX ripped her out of my husband’s arms? (since this was our regular visitation anyway and we should have been able to spend all the time we wanted with DSS)

We wish to take EX to court (because we are tired of her nuisances, this was just the last straw for us) but will we have a case for anything??

Thanks so much, I much appreciated any advice.