Published: April 27, 2007 10:40 am      

Women also dissatisfied with child custody cases

I have seen several letters regarding the group for Fathers' rights, and after reading the letter published on April 20, I felt I had to write to let the fathers know that things are changing.

I have a son who is 5 years old. My ex husband has "physical" and "legal" custody. He was granted custody because I chose to move away from the "family home." (I moved back to Cumberland where "my family" "my support" was.) We had a female judge. I pay him child support. I also have a 10-year-old daughter that I had to think about, and what was best for her. Moving her from that situation was best for her even though it meant separating her from her half-brother.

My son was 3 years old at the time this happened and this was very difficult for everyone involved. It was left up to a judge to decide the "best interest of our child" - sad. My ex-husband would not even talk to me about anything, which I am sure he was instructed to do by his attorney. Now that the papers are signed, he and his family talk to me like nothing has ever happened, and it hurts. I was granted visitation every other weekend and alternate holidays and three weeks in the summer. For one year, every other weekend on Friday, I had to take off work (without pay) and drive to Salisbury on the Eastern Shore to pick up my son and drive back to Cumberland. Then on Sunday I would have to drive him back to Salisbury and come back home. I was able to have this decision overturned in the Special Court of Appeals in Annapolis and now we meet in Annapolis.

As far as child support, I was a police officer making very good money and unfortunately had to retire early. Once you factor in my ex-husband's salary (he is also in law enforcement) and mine, I pay a very large amount of child support for one child. I work full-time to pay child support, because my pension only covers enough for me to pay bills.

I am writing this to let the fathers out there know that courts are changing. I don't agree with what happened in my case, but as with everything, circumstances are going to be different in every case that comes before a judge, male or female. I hope that one day the situation changes and my son is living with me, and that is always a possibility because there could always be a "change is circumstance."

Michelle Taylor
Frostburg