
My ex and I have been divorced for almost 2 years now. We have joint custody where we alternate weeks of custody. 50/50. I am starting the process of fighting for full custody of our daughter because the joint custody arrangement isn’t working and because eventually my job will take me too far away to make 50/50 custody feasible.
My problem is, my ex isn’t a drug addict, isn’t an alcoholic, and isn’t physically abusive to our daughter. And it seems that just being the better parent isn’t enough to win custody over a mother. So my case is based off of her instability. Our marriage ended because of an affair that she had with one of my friends shortly after she gave birth to our daughter. During our daughter’s 3 years on this earth, her mother has lived in 5 different places, has had 10 different jobs (none of which have ever been full time), has remarried (to a man she said one time physically abused her, and with whom she had broken up with 5 times prior to getting married. they then got engaged, then called off the wedding, then got knocked up, then they got married. then in the first month of marriage, he moved out for a month, then moved back in). She has been diagnosed in the past with severe depression and anxiety.
Her parents pay for her insurance, her car, and now her and her new husband live in a house that her parents own. She doesn’t have a routine schedule for parenting, as far as bed time, meal time, or anything else. She frequently leaves her with her mom and dad so that she can go out and do other things. And when she is actually with our daughter, she is just hanging out at her parents house. She has stated that no parent is expected to take care of their child 24/7. She is routinely late in picking up or dropping off our daughter when we exchange custody. Our daughter routinely comes home and tells me that her new husband was yelling at her mommy. The list goes on and on. My ex just can’t provide a stable home life that my wife and i can provide.
I remarried over a year and a half after my divorce, and my wife and I have never split up. I have lived in the same house since my daughter was born. have had the same consistent job and good pay. i make sure that our daughter has a routine for her day. im never late in picking her up or taking her anywhere. im just a dad who is concerned for his daughter’s future and knows that she would be better off living with me full-time.
i don’t question that my ex loves her, i just question her parenting ability. i wouldn’t restrict her access to our daughter, i just want to provide her the sustained stability and opportunities she deserves.
has anyone been through a situation similar to mine. is instability a case in itself??