|
The next weapon in her arsenal was our daughter. Twice she filed for full custody and placement... twice she failed. She claimed in another motion that my potential income was $68,000 yearly and wanted 17% of that amount for child support each month. At the time, the most money I'd ever made in a year in my life was $32,000... and that was when I taught full-time in Joliet and worked 20-24 hours a week at the hardware store during the school year and full-time all summer. This amount, too, was made more reasonable in the presence of our attorneys. An absurd placement scheduled was offered whereas I would see Catherine one weekend and two weeknights each month, with alternating holidays and two one-week periods over her summer vacation from school. By this time I just wanted to get it over with, and consented to it, as well as her motion to attain the entire amount of our joint income tax return. Finally, it was over. But then again, it never is over. On four occasions my placement rights were withheld because she was pissed off at me for some reason or another, and wouldn't let me take Catherine home with me. A fifth was averted last year when I presented my divorce papers and documentation to the police and had Catherine escorted into my legal care. This past week, a sixth attempt to keep me from Catherine was tried, but has since been dropped. Still, I'll have papers in hand ready for the sheriff's department again for my next placement period of November 22 and 23... just in case. What's strange is, during the telephone call with Debbie last week that got my November placement dates squared away, she happened to say how easy I got off with the divorce, that if she was not such a kind person she could have had a lot bigger piece of me than she already does. |