Regarding my previous question about communication with father.

Question

He doesn’t have any relationship with them, that’s why I’ve been suggestion 2 visits throughout the week for 2/4hrs in my home or at our twins child care.  They are only 8months old currently and im still breastfeeding them.  But he doesn’t want that, when I send my message he always responds with 1. Give them to me mon-fri you can have them on the weekend, 2. I’ll take them for a full week, then you can get them, 3. I get them two weeks out of the month then you get them two weeks out of the month or 4. We do the three days on four days off. And he always says if you can’t work with my options then we have nothing to talk about. But he’s only doing this because he knows we have court for child support,  which I didn’t file the state of Arizona did.  And I’ve been looking for a reasonable priced family lawyer, but they are all pretty pricey.  I have a few  consultations schedule for next week, so hopefully I can find one that’ll work with me.

Randi Sirlin · Answer

Hi.  If he hasn't had a relationship with the children and they are that young, your offer is mostly much more reasonable than his demands. 
 
At 8 months old and being breast fed, it is not realistic for him to take them for extended periods of time. 
 
What courts usually do, if both parents are fit, but one parent hasn't been seeing the children, is they start with very short amounts of time to start the process and then what I usually suggest is a "graduated" parenting plan, where, if everything goes well, as they get to know their father and as they get older and there are no problems, I would hope they would spend increasing blocks of time with his as are age appropriate.  Sometimes, the court suggests "reunification therapy," but that is usually for a parent who knew the children but then for some reason, there was an extended separation and they need therapy between the parent and the children (obviously, this is not your situation.

I hope you will not state in court that he is only trying to see the children because of the child support.  Judges do not like to hear that.  In Arizona child support is looked at as a separate issue from legal decision making, parenting time and child support, although parenting time, does, of court affect child support. 
 
If you would like to meet with me, I provide a 2 hour consultation for $150  The reason it is not a free consultation is this:  free consultations with family law attorneys, in my experience, are kind of just a "meet and greet." The potential client comes in and tells the attorney what is happening regarding their situation and the attorney then tells the potential client how much money it will be for them to hire the attorney. 
 
My consultations are different because I do much more than that.  Once we talk about what is going on, I discuss the situation, who the judge is, I will run child support worksheets during the consultation, I provide information about the process, the statutes, the Rules of Court and court forms if a potential client cannot afford an attorney. 
 
This way, whether a potential client hires me, hires another attorney or represents themselves, I make sure they leave my office with something of value. 
 
I also provide "flat fee, limited scope" representation.  This can be representing you at a child support hearing, helping you prepare for the hearing or just meet with you before your hearing to give you advice. 
 
If your other consultations do not result in hiring those attorneys, please feel free to call me at 602-561-8107.  I can meet with you next week. 
 
Thanks, Randi

Q: Regarding my previous question about communication with father.