Hi Buddha,

I'm brand new to this forum, but I've been dealing with alot of BS issues from my ex. Was the divorce filed in California? Were your kids born in California? Were you and your ex residents of California when they were born? If yes to all of those, then I think your best bet would be to file in the state of California.

I live in Washington state, and here they have courthouse facilitators that you can go and talk with and they'll briefly explain the papers you need to file. I'm guessing they have something similar in California. Also, check with the bar association of the county you live in. They'll probably have a program where you can talk to a lawyer for free for 30 minutes or an hour. I feel your pain. Trading the benefits between spending big $$ to hire a lawyer and reduce the $$ that you're being scammed out of is tough, but I'm lucky enough to see my kids on a regular basis.

On the positive side, once your daughter turns 18, your ex-wife will have no say in when you see her.

Good luck!