I went for my custody hearing in front of the judge, neither one of us have an attorney. I however brought 3 witnesses and all documentation of incidences and tex messages etc..etc.. but the judge didnt ask for anything to didnt want to hear my witnesses, however she idd yell at my ex for speaking to me disrespectfully in front of kids (cursing, telling me to shut up etc..) and also said that his days are his days that he is responsible for. But then just got up off the bench and walked away saying the order will stay the same. Makes no sense to me...what is the point of a hearing if she isnt going to listen to everything and obviously certain things are not in the best interest of my children. I do not know what else to do, i can not afford a lawyer. I do not know how to appeal the decision. And my 9 yr old daughter does not want to go with him. He has said things to her about me and has told him not to speak badly about me. Someone please give me some advice on what i might be able to do or where i should go from here, i dont think that judge gave me a proper hearing and just cut me off in the middle of the hearing. I live in the lower bucks county area in PA.
there are attorney's out there that can work with you on the money situation. i found one that only required a 500 retainer and charges 125 per month until her bill is paid off.....sounds like you will need to hire an attorney..they'll hear more of your case with attorney present, and you can ALWAYS ask that he's responsible for the costs for the hearing.
I recommend talking with your daughter and telling her that he is her father...the only one she has got and that she will have him forever and that she should love him because he loves her...and for her not to worry about what you and him argue about or what he says about you...that's for the grown-ups to worry about not her! Her only job is to go spend time with her daddy and to love him!
Reassure her that everything will be alright...
Dear T.,
The judge was probably angry because there is usually enough time between the time the motion is filed to the actual court date to ask for a court appointed attorney and neither of you did.
I’m sorry you and your witnesses were not heard but not surprised. Judges can be short tempered and rude. Many should be off the bench all together. You do have the right to lodge a complaint, but I would wait until your own issues are resolved.
Go to family services and see what they can do to help you appeal the decision. Don’t go back to court without an attorney.
In the meantime document everything, dates, times, events and you are right to have witnesses present when you have to interact with your former husband.
Blessings…..
I would recommend getting an attorney. It is hard to find a good one that is still affordable (yeah, right...an affordable lawyer? lol) When my boyfriend was going through his custody hearings (he just finished up), his ex's lawyer had a "child custody package". I would definitely not recommend that...he would only do what was listed in the package details and nothing more. My boyfriend, on the other hand, spoke to other parents who went through the same thing he was going through and got referred to a lawyer. His lawyer required a $500 retaining fee, but he only pays $50/month until the bill is paid off. Some of them will work with you, you just have to do some shopping around.
You need to go to legal aide and talk to them. Judges really only listen to attorneys, they discount normal people and ignore them for the most part.
