Sigh .. not good.
After several hours of mediation the judge called them in, gave her attorney less than a minute before cutting her off and letting his lawyer praise the scumbag for a full half-hour. The judge never looked at 4 boxes of documents, affidavits, etc., that Mary's lawyer brought, listened to a neighbor (who admitted she didn't really know Mary) praise Bill to the skies. Himself then proceeded to lie his ass off - he works from home 2-3 days a week (he could but never has) is home by 5:30 every night - try 8-8:30, and does 90% of the cooking, cleaning and laundry - try closer to 10%.
In the end the judge gave Bill final decision-making over the boys; Mary gets them the 1st, 3rd, and - if there is one - 5th weekend on the month (Thursday - Sunday). She can only call him one time per day, for any reason. Financially he's only responsible for the two mortgages on the house, no other bills. As primary parent, he also gets the boys' Social Security check (they get $303 each per month because of their mother's disability, even though he makes $150K plus stock options etc.)
She's crushed, but not surprised. He's always been about control and money, and now he's got both. For all practical purposes he owns the boys. We think she should negotiate a cash settlement in exchange for the house (which he's been trying to move back into for two years) and take the money and get the hell out of Georgia. Leave him with 2 teenage boys 24/7 - though God knows what will happen to them, and that's her worry. We all would like to show up with a couple of great big moving vans, pack her up and take her home to Auburn. And then head for a much needed fun trip to Vegas. She hasn't had a week to herself in years.
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