My question involves a child custody case from the State of: FLORIDA



Hello everyone. I am glad you are all here to help me. I will try to make this story short. There is a lot going on so if I seem to drag on a little please forgive me.

My wife has been fighting alcoholism for as long as I've known her. (4 years)

We had our first child in 2009 and the child is healthy. I never knew what alcoholism was, let alone figuring out my own wife was a full blown addict.

After my first child was born my wife went back to drinking, again I thought "she just likes to drink" because I was young and naive. The alcoholism got worse, let me explain.

My wife gets pregnant with second child. Second child is born and healthy. The addition of post partum depression spirals her into drinking and drugging with pills.

Over the course of a few months in 2011-2012 she got into 3 major collisions, the last collision; car was totaled. Two of the collisions with the children in the car. I asked her if she was drinking and she denies that.

The collision that really destroyed the car is what put her in jail. She left the scene of the accident with the cars airbags deployed and the kids in the car, cops on the scene were approached by my parents who made it there before I did. They told my parents if she does not return to the scene, and if they have to go get her "it will not be pretty".


I call my wife and tell her to go back with the kids, get a ride from the neighbor. She sounded drunk. She goes back to the accident scene in the same car, who knows how that car was able to still drive with no radiator fluid is anyones guess. Well the kids were not with her, my mom asked me over the phone where are the kids? I was an hour away, so I called my neighbor and my neighbor found the two children ALONE in the house. She left the kids home alone, 6 month old and 2 year old, alone at home. Witness was my neighbor.

Cops see her return to scene, first thing, handcuffs straight to jail. They DID NOT breathalize her, unfortunately. I bailed her out using a bailbonds agency. $2500 bail, $250 for the agency service

That last collision I found a receipt in her purse that I took from the wrecked car from a restaurant with time and date stamped on it 30 minutes before the accident. I called the retraurant and asked for an itemized receipt to be emailed to me. She had beer 30 minutes before driving the children from our house to grandparents house. I suspect she mixed pills but I do not have that proof. The fact that she drank before driving my children was a dead give-away, alcoholic.

Fast forward a little bit.

She continues to hide alcohol from me, she has no car so she steals the keys from my car and does whatever she wants when I am either sleeping at night or busy doing something else. I try to keep the peace at home for my children and just let her go. She still buys alcohol and I am starting to get fed up with this after I emphasized she needs to stop.

I force her to get to a detox center. Myself and 3 of her close girl friends literally force her into the car and get her to the local detox center to get help. She snuck pills into the detox center, she came out of the center more stoned then when she went in. She admitted to sneaking the pills in.

She stayed in the detox center for one night and then left on foot in the middle of the night, stoned on pills. I was an hour away because we live far from that center so I had to call my friend to go pick her up at 3 AM in downtown.

Next day I told her it will be over between us if she does not go to a rehab center. I did a lot of research online and found a world class rehab center. She entered the center and 3 days later left on foot, again. She knocked on the door at around 2 AM, I did not know how she made it home. She was stoned on drugs again. I told her this is her last try, she needs to go back. Next day I got on the phone with the rehab administrator and got them to re-admit her.

She stayed for another 30 days, I supported her the entire time. I was there for her emotionally and physically when needed. I took time off work to come see her when I was allowed. My parents watched my kids for me, my sister helped.

She left the rehab center after the 30 days and started IOP (intensive outpatient) where they get you more counseling and urine tests 3 times a week for another 3 weeks (but she got to stay at home) just to monitor progress.

She failed a urine test into week two, xanax and beer.

She had two choices, fail the program or re-admit for 2 more weeks. I convinced her to re-admit.

She completed the last two weeks, failed another urine test (she claims she did not use any xanax after the last test and that the test was false). I even argued on her behalf to look at the results closer etc... But they said it was a clear failure.

After she left the rehab program I obtained all documentation from them. Her medical records, her daily progress reports and everything. In one of the progress reports written by the head psychotherapist in the facility, my wife admits to drinking and driving with the kids in the car. Flat out admits it in the report.

I force her to go to AA meeting and I go to Al-Anon meetings after rehab. She stopped going to meetings after about 2 months and took up drinking again. She steals pills from my mom and myself (xanax) and steals painkillers from whoever. I have prescription xanax because I suffer from panic attacks for the past 12 years, I have been taking it as prescribed and I am not a drug addict and have no criminal record, it is hard to hide the pills from her, she always finds them and steals them. It's like a lose/lose situation, I can't take my own medication because she will steal it.

I have videos evidence of her passed out on the floor with the children screaming (back before the rehab this happened a few times) and crying and she isnt even responding, this is the scene I came home to from work. I recorded what I could on my phone, no audio from her, just babys crying. I want to use this in court. Can I?

I called the police on her another time for not waking up when my baby rolled off the bed and she wasnt getting up. I have that police record.

She also shoplifts when she is drunk, I caught her trying to shoplift at a walmart and to my surprise I did a full background check on her and she has shoplifted before.

She goes to random psychiatrists and dentists to get prescription xanax and painkillers, she obviously doesnt tell them she is an addict, she finds ways to get what she wants.

Two months ago she got a great job, last week they fired her for "sleeping on the job and making too many mistakes". I know she was drinking, I have "eyes" out there that told me she goes to the liquor store during lunch hours.

I live in fear day to day. She just bought herself a car (she has a second job she works and makes enough money to afford a car). I told her she cannot drive the kids anywhere, ever. She wants to take them places like to the park etc.. I said she cannot as long as I'm alive, she gets super offended when I say this and complains that she is their mom and has the right to take them places if she wants to. I told her if she moves the kids in her car she won't get 30 seconds from the house, I will call the cops.

I would like this nightmare to end. I spoke to an attorney and showed him all the documentation I have and he said I should have no problem getting full custody and if the judge is nice he will give her only supervised visitation. I want to know what your thoughts are on this and if I am missing something here in Florida as far as law goes. I am a father with a full time job, I make enough money to support both children comfortably, I have help from my parents and sister who do a great job with my kids. My kids attend daycare right now from 8 to 5.

I am worried that when I hand her the papers with the intent to take custody of the children she will flip and either kill herself or kill me and the kids. I don't know how to protect them, she is reckless when she is drunk and I am tired of living in fear.

There are a lot more details to the story, I could write a book, but I know you don't want to read my book, so just read this post and help me if you can.

Please help,

I'm just one man