Wish me luck....

[Peachy]

Hey, at least you get to have parenting time with ur lil sweetie. Thats the positive thing u can look at! Just hang in there!

[Iambjm]

Your post is far from depressing to me. At least you are a stand-up guy who is trying to do right by his daughter. Far too many men did like my Dad did, cut and run and to heck with his kids. I hope you can maintain a positive attitude for your daughter, and cherish every moment with her. I wish you all the luck and hope your life turns out to be a good one.

[Sandmannd]

I think it's great that you got the most time with her, even if it's just a little. It doesn't sound like your ex is wanting her as much to be with her as she is to get the child support money. That's sad, but it does happen. All I can say is take every minute you can with your daughter and make the most of it. Kids are the best thing in the world we can ever have. Try to look at the positive side and always be positive around your daughter. You sound like a very good Dad and are on the right track.

[Lisa Almquist]

I sure wish things had turned out more like you planned N_g! Thank goodness you won the school war! Things may seem bleak now but will start looking up soon.

[teresa]

Hang in there. After our mediation meeting, my ex and I spent a year trying to work by the rules...and dumped them, opting to co-parent and do what was right for our boys. It is not always easy, but if you can focus on the needs of the children and set aside the money factor as something totally seperate (even if it's not), then it might work. We each get the boys about 1/2 the time, and are always swapping and bending time based on what the boys need/want. My very smart lawyer warned me;

1. The guys always want more time and usually don't get it

2. The women always want more money and usually get it.

Doesn't seem right. I turned down the money and gave more time.

[BobT]

I dont' quite understand. Either the laws changed or I'm missed something. When I divorced my first wife we worked out a joint custody arrangement with her as the custodial parent. This basically meant that we had equal "parenting time". This also meant that we didn't have a fixed visitation schedule and it was left up to us to work that out as we went along. That didn't seem to make any difference on my child support payments.

Bob

[teresa]

The laws have changed. Most judges require a more structured settlement with well defined expectations. The amount of time spent with the respective parent will and does make a difference in the support payments. Or, you could have missed something.

[Neighbor_guy]

Yea, nowdays child support is based on the percentages of time spent with each parent. "Coparenting" or Joint custody (true 50/50) does not work in this case based on the distance the parents live apart.

I have had some time to cool off now. I am still a little agitated, But I will live, and life will go on.

I'd still like to get my hands on an eel pout.