OT - Florida

[Guest guest]

This is going to sound a bit crazy. But I thought it can't hurt to

ask. I have been seeing someone who just lost a horrible custody

fight. He lives in NJ and his son is being moved to Florida, West

Palm Beach area. He fought this the whole way, lost, appealed and

lost again. To make a long story short, his ex's attorney argued in

court that since his son has step-father, thus a nuclear family, his

father is not an important part of his life and he does not need to

live near him. They also placed no weight on the fact that his son

(7 years old) see's his grandmother every other weekend and they are

extremely close, and that he is also close with his uncles and

cousins. The other side's attorney also argued that the step-father

can provide a better quality of life for the child in Florida,

although the step-father, even after winning the case, has no legal

financial obligation toward the child. As if quality of life is

driven strictly by the size of house you are raised in, not at all

the family that loves and cares for you. Ugh. My friend pays $1000

per month in child support and might not be able to afford the once

monthly flights to Florida just to see his son for a day and a

half. We are trying to be creative in figuring out how he can get

to Florida and maintain some sort of relationship with his son, as

this is ripping his whole family apart and he can't really bear it

at all but he has to all the same.

So my question to the group... does anyone know anyone in Florida,

West Palm Beach area that has a guest room or something that would

be willing to rent it out for a very reasonable rate for a few days

every month? It would be a weekend at least, but could be as much

as five days (like a Friday - Tuesday) if he can line up some job

interviews. His goal is to move there but he can't do so until he

gets a job first, because he cannot fall behind in his child support

no matter what. Until then, he will get down there as often as he

can (not more than once per month per the court order). Right now

he just can't afford a hotel on top of renting a car and the cost of

the flight, and it kills him that his son is going to feel he

abandoned him and it's all financially driven.

My friend is very kind, polite, clean, and the best father I have

ever known. I wish I had a father that cared this much, to give up

everything, job, family, friends, everything and move so far away

because it is that important that he be in his child's life. If you

know of anyone that could help, please let me know. My email is

xponder70 at dot com.

Jennie