Help a Father save his Daughter

First I will say that I live in Florida and my daughter lives in Texas. I am just a father trying to have a relationship with his daughter. A father trying to be a father. 

 but I know there are many fathers out there going through what I am going through. That know the frustration of going to court, following all the proper steps, have a judge side with you and still have no change in the outcome. 

My daughter is 7 years old. We separated when my daughter was just about to turn 2 and she moved to Texas. I did not have the financial means to travel but I stayed in contact with my daughter via Skype and phone calls. I wanted to see her physically but couldn't but it seems my ex-wife was happy with that arrangement.  It took a couple years but i got a good job with decent pay in NY and was able to save up and I drove from NY to Texas to visit Madi for her birthday. She would be turning 4.

When I got out the car she screamed "Daddy!" and ran to me and jump on me and my heart exploded. It wasn't all good though as she was really restrictive of what we could do but I was just happy that I got to spend time with her. I left there with a heavy heart and drove back home. I continued to see her via Skype and I began planning my second trip which was the following summer for her 5th birthday.

All hell broke loose when my mother suggested we ask that Madi stay with us at our hotel while we were visiting. That did not go well with my daughter's mother. Needless to say that we were not allowed to have Madi stay overnight with us and we were required to use my ex wife's husband as the gatekeeper in order to spend time with Madi. Again, I left there thinking that I will never be able to build a relationship with my daughter if I can't spend time with her as a father and daughter detached from what ever strings her mother had.

I've spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and in order to get a visitation schedule and on November 2017, me and my ex both agreed on a visitation schedule when it comes to our daughter Madi.  This was then signed by the judge.  I really thought that would have been enough. I was wrong....

There were a couple prerequisites that my ex required before I would be allowed to take Madi out of Texas.

1. A couple counseling sessions to address any issues that may arrive after which I would have to..

2. Complete 4 weekend visits in Texas after which I would have to...

3. Complete 1 week visit outside of Texas.

In April of 2018,  I sent my ex-wife an email and text outlining my 4 weekend trips for June, July, August and September as well as my 1 week visit in December.  Plenty of notice for all of those visits. This is how those visits went:

First Visit: I was denied the weekend visit with my daughter.

Second Visit: After back and forth with the attorneys, I was allowed to pick up Madi for the visit however midway through she arrived at the hotel demanding her back and I had to call the cops. 

Third Visit: A week before my visit I learn (after calling her) that she had rescheduled a hernia surgery that our daughter had for the week after my visit to the weekend of my visit. I went straight to the hospital from the airport and saw her for a little bit but she needed to recover at her home from surgery so that weekend was a bust.

Forth Visit: I was denied my visitation.

All four of those visits cost Airfare, hotel, rental car and money for food/expenses. 

Because she did not allow me to complete those 4 visits, I was concerned that she would then try to say that I could not take her in December. My attorney set up an emergency hearing the day before I arrived (Dec 20, 2018) in Texas to get a judge to declare that the 4 visits would count and that my daughter's mother would have to turn her over for Christmas to me on Dec 21, 2018.The judge agreed and signed the order stating those things.


Keep in mind that my ex-wife would not allow my daughter to fly unaccompanied so I am forced to buy 3 round trip tickets. One for me to fly out there and pick her up. One for my daughter to fly with me to Florida and back to Texas and one for me to fly my daughter back to Texas and return back to Florida. We bought the tickets early and it still ran me 1500.00 for those Christmas Tickets. . I flew to Texas however I ended up flying back to Florida alone....

At this point, given whats transpired, I see no other recourse than to seek full custody in order to protect my daughter from the emotional/mental abuse as well as parental alienation that my ex-wife is inflicting upon her.

Skype calls go unanswered. Phone calls are ignored. When I fly out I cannot see her, child support paid every month.....but I am called an absentee father....

I'm pleading that if you are a man that has gone through this same situation or are going through it now or if you are a woman that has seen someone you love going through this that you please donate. I am asking for your help in protecting my daughter from irreversible emotional damage. I thank you in advance for any contribution you can make. Your donation will be used on all legal fees and expenses incurred while filing for full custody.

We have to stop vindictive parents from using our children as tools to inflict pain on their ex's at the emotional and mental expense of our children. All donations will go to all legal fees, expenses and any other costs associated with pursing full custody. 

I will posting updates as the become available to keep all those who have contributed up to date.
If you wish to contact me, you can do so at [email redacted]