Good news for me

I met with my attorney yesterday and overall it was good news for me, bad news for my ex.  In addition, I stumbled upon an extra $2,000+ in medical bills that he never reimbursed me for bringing the total up to $6,500, which with interest, attorney and court costs thrown in is a big chunk of change.  As my attorney put it, a contempt order would be thrown at him for failure to pay his fair share of unreimbursed medical bills and no court/judge looks kindly on a parent who ignores their responsibility to their own child. 

I've already called her former providers to get an account summary of all charges to prove that everything is paid in full and in the processof getting copies of the checks verifying that we did indeed pay what would have been our member responsibility.  It is a small price to pay in the short term that will pay off in the long run. 

The only bad news for us was we end up paying for my daughter's mistakes (i.e. failing high school courses required for graduation) in the form of child support, which normally ends at the age of 18 or when they graduate from high school.  The last I heard she was trying to get into an alternative program to help her catch up with classes she needs to graduate, so hopefully it won't be but a few months or so. 

We are trying to come with the $5,000 retainer fee on our own since we will be receivng no help from my mom and step-dad, who feel we should try to negotiate a settlement with my ex instead of taking any legal action since apparently now he wants to talk.  Sorry Charlie, it's a little too late now, you had your chances and threw it away.   

In addition, supposedly my ex is denying me access to my daughter's education records now that she has transferred to a new school stating that this is HIS right to protect our daughter by any means necessary, which thanks to my wonderful attorney he has empowered me with a law stating that I have full and equal access to her education records absent to a court order.  If the school wants to fight I intend to show them my proof that I'm hoping they abide by or I'll have my attorney get in contact with their legal department to hammer this out. 

I know there will be people that disagree with my decision to pursue legal action against my ex, maybe some that will understand and others who plain don't care.  Sometimes the only way to get your point across is to be nasty and mean, hurt them where it counts especially when taking the nice approach gets you treated more like a doormat than a human being.