My mother is trying to sue my dad for contempt of court because he has failed to show papers proving that he has the money set aside for my college. They have been divorced for the past 9 years and in the divorce papers it says he is supposed to have money and give it to me when i am about to enter college. He has not given me the money but says if i show him the bills he will request that the money be sent in. I have asked my mom not to sue him but she has taken it upon herself to do it anyway. I do not want him sued. I was wondering if there was anyway to stop this since it involves me.
I'd avoid suing.. The court fees, lawyer costs and just amount of time required to go through with something like this would just be horrid. If you go to college, you can go onto a loan system can't you? Like you go to your college and pay it off later? You could organise for your dad to do the monthly repayments or whatever it is. Sadly, since this is part of the agreement of their divorce, you don't really have a say in whether your mother goes to court or not. However, if you keep reminding her that it's a very stupid idea then hopefully she'll come round. Plus like I said before, court fees aren't cheap.. Down here we've got a case going for medical negligence which resulted in death and our court fees are going to be about $100,000..
You don't say how old you are, or where you are, but I would think if you are over 18, you could arrange to file a "friend of the court" brief stating that you're the beneficiary of the money, that you've been promised payment, and that you don't wish to proceed with the case. That alone might be enough to get the case dismissed. Just be careful... you'll really piss off your mother if you do this, and she may be trying to look out for your best interests. If your dad is bullshitting you and he doesn't really have the money, or starts paying and later flakes, you're screwed. If you want to pursue it, and are over 18, elance.com of all places offers very cheap legal services and i'm sure you could find someone who would file an amicus brief for you at low cost. (Your dad would probably pay the bill.)
I admire you, Wolfboy. You have no resentment to your dad regardless of what he did. I think the simplest thing you can do is to persuade your mom that suing your dad could just make the problem worse. You can also personally talk to your dad about this. Ask him for explanation—but don’t argue—it’s better to solve the issue in peaceful manner. I think we’re on the same boat, but I’m more rebellious than you are. I’ve been greatly affected when my parents divorced. I was even attended by a psychologist because I’d been an asshole during high school. The psychologist said that my delinquency was a normal reaction to effects of divorce on children. Hadn’t been the support from mom, I would have become an addict or killer.
