pen dente lite (Latin), or pending in the litigation. Any motion filed before the Petition is presented in court. Cannot be filed until at least 30 days after the Respondent is served with notice of intention to divorce. See Motions.
Question: Can I be held in contempt of court for protecting my child? I live in Missouri, I have a 14 month old son with my ex. As of August we have a 50/50 custody arrangement. 3 days after we signed the agreement, my ex has started neglecting our son. He is a sociopathic alcoholic My son comes back from his care with dried food on his face and body, dirty and too small clothing,dog hair on his binkies and face, and smells horribly. My son also has asthma and he has refused to give him his medication as needed. He "self diagnosed" my son, and often realies on his brother who is an M.D. for medical advise rather than calling our sons pediatrician..I have a daily log I keep,pictures, video tape, clothes, and binkies with dog hair on it that I have saved. Most recently he attacked me at the police station with my son in his arms..they have that on tape, and our court date is next week. this is his 2nd assault towards me, both with my son present. first one was dropped, per my former lawyer, saying in order to presue child support i would need to drop it , and ask that the restaining order be lifted. DFS is currently doing an investigation on his father. He has left my son home alone while walking the dog in the front yard, has taken him out in the rain with no hat on to walk the dog..lives in a home with a 30 year old furnace and refuses to change the filter..all of which could be contributing to my sons breathing problems, i have asked and asked my ex what the hell is going on at his house, and all he says is "i deny your accusations"..he pays child support, and we share custody yet he feels i am responsible for new shoes and coats etc...he returns my son in the same clothes as dropped off in because he is tired of hearing me complain, yet those clothes are not washed and smell horribly. We have a pending Motion to Modify court date with a new lawyer I hired, also he is filing an emergency PDL next week. This is one horrible thing after another. I have refused to hand him over on his days on several occasions because he has refused to answer my questions as to how he is being cared for, or if he was sick etc. I have finally had it as of today, he shows up at the doctors office and lies to the doctor about the care he is giving our son...which i have proof of..hes more than happy to show up to appts but not pay for a copay, and more than happy to try to control everything, but when my son was in the hospital i couldnt get a hold of him for 48 hours because he was "out having a life"...he neglects my son, does not care about what it really means to be a parent and refuses to get his dirty house of to par. Why is my son to suffer , just so that i wont be held in contept of court,..how is that fair? If i refuse to hand over my son for the above reason, ie neglect etc...will i really be held in contempt? is handing over a child to someone who is an abusive alcholic and neglects my son really in the best interst of my child?...Yet i am going to be the "bad guy" for not handing him over..I want my child to have a father, however in the pdl it will state for my ex to undergo a psychological exam. SERIOUS ANSWERS ONLY PLEASE.
Answer: You need to let him have his child on his days or you are found in contempt.
If he is so dangerous, and attacked you, why didn't you file a restraining order against him and your son? if you did that, he wouldn't have his visitation rights right now.
Luckily, they are going to get him the tests he needs in order to see if he is fit to parent.
As far as what he has done, it is not neglect but just not good parenting.Neglect would be, not feeding the child, abusing the child, letting the child sit in soiled pants etc. Sounds like baby daddy is just straight up unsanitary.
Anyways, I hope they get you the help you need.
