Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I have to laugh.....

because if I didn't.....I think I would just cry. I won't go into a lot of detail but Saturday my son got another court "order" in the mail. Now he's being ordered to reimburse the court for the services of the Guardian Ad Litem for his daughter. This is the same on-going case in which his daughter (who he has custody of) was sucked into court because her mother (whom she rarely sees and does NOT live with) uses drugs and was neglecting her two other children she's had since my son broke off with her. We had nothing to do with that case or with his ex. But my son's child was made temporary ward of the court just like her two half siblings....only difference was that she was permitted to stay with her father, where the half-siblings went to foster care because THEIR father was part of the neglect.

Friday I am giving copies of all this paperwork to the County Commissioner in hopes that she can help us get away from all their drama. My son and his child were not involved in it until now. And this last communication from the court just added insult to injury. He's forced into all this...has done no wrong...has NO criminal charges against him....has to put up with weekly visitation to the ex.... bi-weekly "home visits" from the social workers...and NOW they are making him PAY for services that he had no involvement in instigating.

I hope you don't find this boring. Maybe by letting you know what could happen to you when you're doing nothing wrong will start up some effort to protect the INNOCENT....instead of just laws on the books to protect the GUILTY. We have looked into getting legal counsel but he has to come up with a $2500 retainer fee and lord only knows what more costs will be tacked on after that. He really can't afford that. And again....he shouldn't HAVE to be putting out money like this for something he had no prior knowledge of and definitely was not involved in. As we find out more, I'll post the results. And if any of you have any suggestions....please advise. Thanks.

On a different subject.....I was paying bills online last night and had just clicked OK to pay the last bill and saw it go when the power went off. This really disgusted me. I have reported this to the power company before and they were supposed to check it out and remedy it. We lose our power here on the average of once every two weeks. I have given up reprogramming my answering machine and my VCR. I have purchased clocks with battery back-up because I got so sick of having to reset them all the time. The power outages lasts for about 1 or maybe 2 seconds for the most part. Sometimes its out for 3 minutes but that's rare. This is about the worse thing you can do to electronics.....especially computers. I have a battery back-up system for my computer but its old and it didn't work last night when the power went out. So I guess I'll have to replace it....and soon...... before the outages ruin this system. I've lost two computers due to these outages and I tried to get the power company to reimburse me, but they wouldn't. They state they aren't responsible for your stuff. Anyway, Mercury is retrograde right now and that means the time is right for computers to crash, appliances to stop, cars to break down and communications to get screwed up. So I waited for a good 10 minutes before I booted up my system again and....sure enough....the keyboard wasn't working. I was dismayed because even though they are cheap now...my keyboard is special and I'm not so sure I can find another one like it. I shut the system totally down and left it alone for about an hour. I rebooted again and everything worked! Computers are strange things....but I'm glad everything is working again. Mercury will be normal again on June 19.

15 comments:

The Real Mother Hen said...

Hhhhmmm that's really unfair! $2500 retainer fee is a lot of money too. The system who aims to help "family" actually wants to bankrupt the family - that by itself is so wrong.

well Val, I'll keep this in my prayer, if the man upstairs doesn't want to do anything, I'll nuke the system for you! :)

Meanwhile, sue the power company for broken electrical appliances.

Betty said...

Is there a "Legal Aid" office in your area? They should be able to give him some advice without breaking the bank.

Acrimony said...

I don't understand how he can be expected to be responsible for something he had nothing to do with. I mean that's like them sending me a freaking bill. I don't get it.

Sorry about your power problems, we have that happen here too. It's obnoxious.

Cheryl said...

Your son is the victim here, and it's a shame. I hope you'll have some good news...he deserves it.

Mama Llama said...

I, too, am holding out for Mercury. Geez Louise.

I am sorry. Your grandchild does not deserve to be raised like this and your son, for as much playing by the rules that he is doing, does not deserve this treatment. I wish I had suggestions.

Please do keep us posted.

In the meantime, be well, Val.

Mary said...

It's harder to deal with our children being victims than it is for ourselves. I'm so sorry all of you have to deal with this.

I don't know a single thing about Mercury being retrograde or otherwise but do you think that maybe be my problem? Warn me before anything else goes retrograde. (I hate to admit that I don't exactly what that means in this context. Am I dumb or what?)

Smocha said...

I'm pretty sure that guardian ad litem is a frekin volunteer position!
Making it even worse that they would try and bill your son.

I was going to say what Betty said. Try legal aid.I think they go by your income as far as what they charge.Some advice may even be free.
Good luck with that mess. That would be making me so livid!

We also have those stupid power outages "for no reason"
all my clocks are wrong and I never bother to set them any more. i didn't know it ruined things. guess thats why our microwave took a crap at 2 years old.Computer ..the blue screen of death a couple years ago.
damn. who knew?

Well hope it's a good stress free day for you today!

Karen said...

I'm so sorry to hear about that happening to your son and therefore to you too. The laws are so screwed up and do always seem to punish the innocent and those who are trying to do the right thing. So frustrating !

Please keep us posted Val. Sending you a big ol' Gypsy hug.

Joy Des Jardins said...

We all know that Justice does not reign....and this is just one more glowing example Val. I'm so sorry your poor son is dealing with all this crap and frustration. Is there any wonder why some people 'snap' and lose it entirely? While people like your son go through these kind of things every day there are people getting away with real crimes all the time....slipping through this wonderful 'justice' system. WOW, what a wonderful legal system we have. The only thing you can do is be there to support him through all this nonsense....and give him an extra hug for me.

Moohaa said...

Is there no one who will do it pro-bono? I can't believe the poor guy is going thru all this.

Big hugs.

Maria said...

So THAT is what is going on...I had wondered why the speedometer and clock radio in my car kept shorting out. It's Mercury....

We used to have power problems like yours every summer so we invested in something called "surge protection" and now the power never goes out like it used to.

I'm very sorry for your son's troubles.

CRUSTY MOM-E said...

You are having some week! I'm sorry to hear what you guys are going through..my heart goes out to your granddaughter..every daughter needs a mom, shame on her! Your sons a good soul..even though the govt makes it impossible for the good ones to have what they so very much deserve!! I hope something breaks for him and perhaps maybe someone that will pro bono the case.. :(

Always,
Elizabeth

SOUL said...

sorry i'm like a year late gettin to this post-- i hope you got some answers by now???

anything on the legal aid? pro bono?
both good suggestions on lookin into.

as for the gaurdian ad litum fees. i might be confused ---- are they trying to make him pay for this for the kids that aren't his? or they took his kid against his will from a separate home than the one being investigated , and now want him to pay for that care??

i agree with smocha-- a person with "guardianship" (gai) doesn't receive state funds, not like a foster parent. i don't see where they're trying to recoup fees/money from.

sorry.. i either am not reading this right or just don't get it-- but to me... if i did read it right-- your son shouldn't have to pay anything at all. i wouldn't even think that it would take a lawyer to see or prove that. but i don't know all the details clear enough , i guess, to say that for sure.

anyhow-- i'll be prayin for you guys :))
i hope it all works out.

Jenny said...

Once you get into "the system" it seems there is no easy way out of it. Really sorry.

I have the same problem with those kind of power outtages too - I blame solar flares AND Mercury.

Have a great weekend.

Jamie said...

That's really unfair! But nothing surprises me anymore. I feel for you and your son, Val, there are so many injustices in this world. I'm sorry I can offer no advice.

So the mercury thing is what's wrong with everything right now? Thanks for clearing that up...

Have a very happy weekend.

:)