Divorcing couples in Texas have a lot of decisions ahead of them. Among the most contentious of those decisions is child custody. Often, both parents feel that they should receive full custody. This emotional topic can cause some parents to take matters into their own hands, as in this recent case.
An ex-husband claims he was set up by his former spouse to gain a court’s favor in the pair’s ongoing dispute over child custody, child support and alimony. The former wife hired a private detective, but declares she had no part in engineering a sting to catch her ex-husband driving drunk.
The ex-wife has filed a complaint against her 49-year-old ex, stating that she is being forced to auction off her home because of unpaid child support and spousal maintenance.
The ex-wife stated in her court filings that she hired a detective in late 2008 to monitor her ex-husband’s drinking. Her motive, she said, was the safety of her three children, whom she said complained that their father drove drunk.
Court papers say that the detective hired two women to approach the ex-husband online for a date. The hired women then invited the ex-husband to meet them at a bar. The private detective videotaped the man exiting the bar and phoned a police officer. The ex-husband was stopped and charged with DUI.
A family court will decide in October if the former husband’s entrapment claims hold any weight. His ex-spouse contends that she had no knowledge of the detective’s investigative methods and that her former spouse’s DUI was not his first.
The man now wants the divorce postponed, stating that his ex-wife is using his recent DUI arrest as ammunition to gain child custody and possession of martial assets. He believes, according to filed court documents, that his former wife entrapped him by hiring a private investigator.
As this case shows, child custody decisions are very difficult for many couples. It is important to remember, however, that the children’s best interests are always most important.
Source: ABC News, “Man Accuses Ex-Wife of DUI Sting in Child-Custody Battle,” Laura Riparbelli, Aug. 2, 2011
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