My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Wisconsin
Hello - I am hoping to find some help on here. Here are the basic cliff notes of our custody history.
- My daughter is 11
- We switched to 50/50 custody in 2012 with joint legal custody
- Custody was previously 72/28
- Child has historically gone to school in my district
Here is my dilemma. My daughters father and I have joint legal custody. Until now, this has never been an issue. She is starting middle school and I would like to enroll her in the school district we are moving to in October, which is about 20 minutes away from him. He agreed via text and I retained an attorney to draft a stipulation with the school information, changing custody to every other week instead of a split week so it is less disruptive, and some miscellaneous language about school fees, activities, and requesting that he maintain absolute sobriety due to medications he is on (methadone). He agreed to it, but modified the stipulation to remove the absolute sobriety, say that if he disagrees with a school activity I am responsible for the fees (he will just disagree to everything and stick me with the bill) and that I need to move in before school starts. The school I am enrolling her in is one of the best in the state, ranks significantly higher in test scores, and is rated number 9 in the state of Wisconsin, compared to 246 for the school in his district. Since I won't agree to the other terms he added/removed to the stipulation, he is now refusing to agree with the school choice and saying he is going to register her in his district. Can he do this?! School is about to start and I am really stressed out about it. The only possible reason he could have to want her in his district is because he doesn't want to drive her. He's even made comments about how the district I enrolled her in is too "rich" and that the other kids will treat her poorly! I am baffled and don't know what to do. With school starting so soon, we won't have time to get in front of a judge.
Additionally, since switching to 50/50 custody my daughter has become progressively more disrespectful and less interested in school. This could be because she's becoming a teenager as well. He has never been able to get her to school on time. Her dad had a tragedy happen in their household last year (infant son passed away) and has been understandably depressed since. I also recently found out that he has been in a methadone treatment program for the past 3 years for drug addiction. I am very concerned about the amount of narcotics he takes daily, he isn't tapering off and takes a high dose, and he even brings my daughter to the methadone clinic to get his drugs!! I feel that I am in a better position mentally and financially to provide my daughter with a stable home. He just lost his job. He and his wife have a baby on the way and have had marriage problems since day 1. And he is currently facing felony domestic abuse charges for an incident with his wife. Since it is his third domestic, they are charging him with a felony. I feel so helpless and I just don't know what to do. I want her to be in the best school and environment possible but he is fighting me every step of the way. Please help!

