Winter holiday plans
Desiree:
In the event the Court does not grant you the relief you are seeking will you be prepared to handle Gabriel's travel arrangements to Phoenix and back for the winter holiday?
Yes, I am prepared to handle the travel plans. If you could provide me the dates of the school holiday I will see about plane tickets first (I would rather not drive again).
Also - I thought I would mention that I am not seeking sole custody. It's not what Gabriel wants and I am completely comfortable with joint or shared time with you. I figure he can be there during the school year and with me for holidays as we planned. It is laid out in the custody visitation schedule part of my response...not sure if you got that yet as my attorney is now handling the legal crap. I had my attorney lay it out so that things like his birthday and other holidays that do not get time off school will be spent in california as well, but the entire duration of school breaks will be with me. I also figured we could go through that schedule on the 6th during the mediation (which I will be present for).
Shoot - sorry...1 more thing...we will be giving him the Xbox Gears of War consol, game and controller for christmas - and I fully expect that he will bring it back to california with him. I'm also going to try and get him some luggage for christmas as this is now a practical gift that (hopefully) will be used regularly. Not sure if you care at all...just figured I'd let you know.
Desiree:
Thank you.
Desiree:
May I suggest you speak with your attorney then because item 5 on the form FL-270 (Response to Petition for Custody and Support of Minor Children) states that you are seeking (a) sole legal and (b) physical custody; item 5(d) states that you are seeking supervised visitation every Sunday from 9AM to 4PM in Peoria, AZ. The form is signed by you and dated 11/17/11. So, contrary to what you say [above], you are formally requesting sole legal and physical custody and supervised visitation.
Also, the form FL-341(C) (Children's Holiday Schedule Attachment) states you are seeking almost all holidays with me to have every second of a few holidays.
However, interestingly, the form FL-311 (Child Custody and Visitation Application Attachment) states that you are seeking joint legal custody but conceding physical custody. That contradicts the FL-270.
So, based on the forms you signed and your attorney filed it is unclear what you are requesting. Therefore, I must assume and prepare for the worst case (that you are seeking sole legal and physical with supervised visitation).
And, regarding the mediation, I would like the mediator to speak with Gabriel, to receive his input. Generally, the mediator will not do so unless both parents consent. You had stated previously that you would not consent. Is this still your position? If so, I will have no choice but to request the Court order it. I believe, however, that if you really are interested in what Gabriel wants (as you seem to be saying) then you would want him to be able to speak, in confidence, to the mediator so he can express his desires directly to the Court.
I was very confused when I reviewed the information from the attorney as well and had to speak with him to clarify it. Basically, he made sure to cover me in the event you decide to go either route (sole or joint). The first form is in case you decide to demand sole custody with monitored visitation (as you stated you were seeking the last time we spoke) or if any of the requests I've made you are not willing to accept or made demands that I am not willing to accept. The second form is what I would actually like to arrange, what I'm actually seeking (joint custody with the visitation plan as agreed by you, me and Gabriel).
I don't think he got all the visitation time correct but I figured we would probably fix it during the mediation time. As far as the mediator speaking with Gabriel - I have no problem with that. You can take this as my consent and do not need to worry about having the court mandate it. My reluctance before had to do with Gabriel's physical location at the time - not about the courts speaking to him. Honestly, we all pretty much agree on the terms of custody (as long as you are now ok with him coming here to visit). I see no reason we can't make this simple :-)