maryquitecontrary Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 I'm divorcing a family attorney in Louisiana. After 3 years there's been no progress whatsoever. Custody unaddressed. Assets frozen. I've been throwing money away on a 2 bedroom apartment hoping my daughter would be able to come visit me, but I haven't even been able to get in front of someone to make that happen yet. Yes, I have an attorney. Yes, I have also turned to several other attorneys to seek additional advice. My ex has been able to request more and more absolute bull**** to the point that my hearings keep getting delayed and delayed. I have turned over 5 years of mobile phone records, credit card records, bank statements and now I have most recently handed over 12 years of medical records from 14 different practitioners because he wanted every. single. medical. record. I have a history of addiction, have been clean for 3 solid years with plenty of documentation to prove it, including about 170 drug tests over a 3 year period. I basically got myself tested about 2-3 times a week and handed over all the negative results. I don't have a psychological disorder. When I was first in treatment for addiction they diagnosed me with depression and PTSD, but after weekly therapy for years I am well past all that. I want to see my child. I want this damn divorce to end so I can find an actual home and stop throwing away my hard earned money. I hate my ex so damn much I can't even find the words to express it and I will never forgive him for taking these years of my daughter's childhood away from me. Nothing happened with the addiction. He didn't even know about it until the week I left home. I said I had a problem so I could go to rehab basically to get away from him and to work on myself. During rehab I realized I couldn't be with that jerk any longer and so I told him and he filed for divorce. I just wanted to vent. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Please just make this nightmare end. Link to post Share on other sites
Arieswoman Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 mary, I am sorry this is happening to you. x It sounds like a ridiculous situation to me. You say that he filed, but now he's dragging his feet? It sems like this is a control issue on his part. I would speak to your attorney and see if you can file? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author maryquitecontrary Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 mary, I am sorry this is happening to you. x It sounds like a ridiculous situation to me. You say that he filed, but now he's dragging his feet? It sems like this is a control issue on his part. I would speak to your attorney and see if you can file? He is dragging his feet because he knows when we get to the next hearing I will get unsupervised visitation with my child. There is no reason for me not to. His strategy is to hold out as long as possible so that now I can be just considered estranged. Well, Idk if it is really estranged. I have been driving 300 miles every week to see her for one hour supervised for $125/hr. I am obviously doing everything within my power to see my child. I also ask every week to take her to lunch with his mom supervising. Nope. Link to post Share on other sites
PegNosePete Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 It sounds as though you're letting everyone call the shots but you. You need to tell your attorney all of this. You need to get angry. You need to tell him that you want it sorted ASAP and ask him what he is going to do to ensure that happens. Remember who works for whom, and who pays the bills! Time to kick ass and chew bubblegum... but you're all out of gum. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
mikeylo Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 The main problem is that he himself is a family attorney. He knows the ins and outs of the law , how to speed up and how to drag. OP, you need a strong attorney who can work around him. Some might be intimidated by him. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author maryquitecontrary Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 The main problem is that he himself is a family attorney. He knows the ins and outs of the law , how to speed up and how to drag. OP, you need a strong attorney who can work around him. Some might be intimidated by him. Oh, well get this- no divorce attorneys in the area would even SEE ME! Not even ones 30 miles away and a few in several hours away told me no, too. My attorney is a personal injury attorney. She is the only one that would take my case. Yeah, I could have a cut-throat attorney that travels but they all wanted to charge me incredible amounts of money and even if I did pay it, I was worried that having a cocky out of town attorney in this particular courthouse would backfire on me big time. Link to post Share on other sites
Mittens Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 What were their reasons for not wanting to see you? Link to post Share on other sites
mikeylo Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Oh, well get this- no divorce attorneys in the area would even SEE ME! Not even ones 30 miles away and a few in several hours away told me no, too. My attorney is a personal injury attorney. She is the only one that would take my case. Yeah, I could have a cut-throat attorney that travels but they all wanted to charge me incredible amounts of money and even if I did pay it, I was worried that having a cocky out of town attorney in this particular courthouse would backfire on me big time. See, that is your entire issue and he is playing on that. I don't see any way around it except to find a bad azz attorney. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sandylee1 Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 What were their reasons for not wanting to see you? I imagine they all know her STBXH and it's a conflict of interest. Link to post Share on other sites
PegNosePete Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 (edited) Oh, well get this- no divorce attorneys in the area would even SEE ME! Not even ones 30 miles away and a few in several hours away told me no, too. Did you tell them his occupation, before they refused you? If so, why? If not, then their refusal can't be down to his occupation right? So I'm a bit confused here. Did you ask them why they wouldn't see you? They should be able to tell you exact, specific reasons. My attorney is a personal injury attorney. This is your problem. He may be a great personal injury lawyer (if such a thing exists!) but this is like asking a brain surgeon to perform a triple heart bypass. Sure he knows about surgery but hearts and brains are VERY different things. You should find a proper family attorney ASAP. It's usually not necessary for them to travel. It can almost always be done by phone, email and post these days. I imagine they all know her STBXH and it's a conflict of interest. Not a good idea to "imagine". Better to ask. If it's conflict of interest then they will have no problem telling the OP that. And just knowing someone doesn't mean it's a conflict of interest. To be CoI they have must have advised her ex in regard to this specific issue. It's possible he's called around to all the local attorneys and "burned" them for her, but if that is the case, they will simply say it's a conflict of interest when asked why they won't see her. Edited July 3, 2017 by PegNosePete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author maryquitecontrary Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 The reasons given were "conflict of interest" and "I would rather not get involved" because of the ex's occupation. Saying the attorneys don't have to travel is incorrect at least in the crappy state of Louisiana with their antiquated legal system. The licensed family attorney that I did manage to get advice from told me he couldn't do anything different than what my current attorney is doing and that my ex is in the driver's seat at this time. He also wanted to charge me $300/hr for travel one and a half hours back and forth to the courthouse in addition to an increase from his regular fees. Why throw money into a void when I don't think anyone can change what's happening? I'm going to have to just pray for a damn miracle. If I DID get a new attorney that attorney would require a LOT of time just to get familiar with this extremely complicated child custody case. I am 3 years into it and every attorney I saw advised me not to start over. I'm just screwed. Did you tell them his occupation, before they refused you? If so, why? If not, then their refusal can't be down to his occupation right? So I'm a bit confused here. Did you ask them why they wouldn't see you? They should be able to tell you exact, specific reasons. This is your problem. He may be a great personal injury lawyer (if such a thing exists!) but this is like asking a brain surgeon to perform a triple heart bypass. Sure he knows about surgery but hearts and brains are VERY different things. You should find a proper family attorney ASAP. It's usually not necessary for them to travel. It can almost always be done by phone, email and post these days. Not a good idea to "imagine". Better to ask. If it's conflict of interest then they will have no problem telling the OP that. And just knowing someone doesn't mean it's a conflict of interest. To be CoI they have must have advised her ex in regard to this specific issue. It's possible he's called around to all the local attorneys and "burned" them for her, but if that is the case, they will simply say it's a conflict of interest when asked why they won't see her. Link to post Share on other sites
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