RI judiciary | RI Family Court -ri courts
Rhode Island divorce attorney, David Slepkow has compiled the Top 8 arguments that are usually unsuccessful in Providence Family Court! RI family lawyer, David Slepkow, has 20 years of experience in the RI Courts. David knows his way around the family courthouse in Providence RI.
Providence Family Court
RI family lawyer, David Slepkow, doubts that the arguments, set forth below, will prevail in any family Court in the United States! This RI family law legal article is applicable to child custody, visitation, child support, divorce (dissolution of marriage) as well as Paternity cases in RI. You cannot get this type of information by speaking to the staff at the family courthouse providence RI.
RI Judicial system
The RI family court is well aware of how to deal with pro-se litigants making dumb arguments. The RI Judiciary is a complicated place. It is very difficult for people to understand the ri judiciary. RI courts are complicated places and pro-se litigants can easily get in over their head.
#1. Our child must wake up in my house, where the child resides, Christmas morning each and every year to open the Christmas presents since I am the child’s mother.
This argument is usually ineffective because the RI Family Court judges have heard such arguments thousands of times before. This type of argument is premised on emotion. Rhode Island domestic justices and RI courts usually believe that the parents of minor children should alternate Christmas parenting time. The normal Christmas schedule is one parent having parenting time on Christmas Eve, overnight until 11-2 and the other parent having parenting time Christmas day, overnight. The schedule will alternate every year. However, some Justices, Magistrates and General Magistrates may be a little sympathetic to a very young child between the ages of 3-4 waking up at the house where the child resides on Christmas morning.
#2. If I allow him visitation with our child, he will kidnap our child.
This speculative argument usually is ineffective because the Justices of the RI Family Court have heard such similar arguments thousands of times before. This non legal argument is premised on pure speculation and is borderline absurd. It is the classic “hail Mary”. (meaning: nothing else is working so I will play this card as a last resort to interfere with his visitation rights)
If the justice of the Providence Family Court at the Garrahy Judicial Complex denied visits solely based on an unsubstantiated allegation of hypothetical child kidnapping then it would be too simple to deprive a father of his fundamental right to visitation. Furthermore, the Kent County Family Court, which is part of the ri judiciary and the RI judicial system, may not issue decrees based on silly speculation or a hypothetical fact scenario. RI domestic Courts issue orders based on testimony and facts not base on guesswork and speculating. The Rhode Island Family court in Providence or Warwick is usually willing to issue an order that the party cannot permanently remove the minor child from the state of Rhode Island. In some instances, the court will issue a restraining order against out of state travel for significant periods of time without prior consent.
If there is credible evidence that the person may take off with the children then this argument might be taken seriously by RI court..
#3. The father is only requesting visitation with our children to get back at me, he does not really want to visit with our children.
This type of emotional argument cannot really be proved and the Justices of the Providence Family Court are not interested in this argument because it is impossible to prove and too easy to say. Also, the father’s real motivation for desiring visitation for his or her child is irrelevant since his or her parenting time rights are a fundamental right.
#4. Despite the fact that the drug test at Providence Family Court came back ‘negative’, my ex must have consumed supplements or drank tons of water (h20) because he or she is still a drug addict.
The RI Family Court has a drug testing facility in Providence RI at the Garrahy Judicial Complex. The Justices, Magistrates and General Magistrates believe that the testing procedure at that facility is accurate and therefore must rely on it. This argument is also usually based on rank speculation. Unless a person has actual evidence that the person is cheating the drug test than this argument will usually fall on deaf ears.
#5. He doesn’t even know how to change a diaper.
The judges figure that he will figure it out. Every new parent must learn how to change diapers.
#6. I just use drugs occasionally and its only marijuana.
Drug are drugs to family Court Judges! Any Illegal drug use is grounds for taking the children from the parent with physical custody and placing them with the other parent. Drug use could also lead the ri courts to order that all future visitation with the minor children be supervised visits. 2018 legal update: Some judges in the RI judiciary and RI Family Court have, recently, taken a more liberal position on marijuana because of the widespread legalization across the United States. Different judges in the Rhode Island Family Court have widely different positions about marijuana use and how it impacts custodial rights.
#7. The only reason he wants visitation is so his parents can visit with the children.
Unless you can prove that he does not spend time with the children and his parents spend all the time with them during visits then this argument will not work!
#8. He has not paid his child support so he should not have visitation with the child!
The Courts are not willing to punish the children by disallowing visitation because a parent is in arrears in payment of child support. Nonpayment of child support is not a reason to suspend visitation! The RI judiciary looks negatively on parents who refuse visitation premised on the noncustodial parent refusing to pay child support.
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Rhode Island Attorneys legal Notice per RI Rules of Professional Responsibility required by the RI judiciary and Providence Family Court which regulates the RI Judicial system: The Rhode Island Supreme Court, the RI Judicial Judges and RI family court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any lawyer / attorney as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.