My ex held all of the cards. Filed an admittedly false EPO on me and had me removed from the house to further her side of the divorce.
It was Hellish and I had little to cling to, but I feel certain that the kids will want to live with me when they are older. Until then, onward, upward, survive and improve.
I wish you the best.
My ex screwed up every way she could. It still took two years and many many thousands of dollars to come out where I did.
Lots of bad from it, but I did end up with my daughter so all is good in my world. The rest is just details.
Divorce is nasty and can certainly leave you unsure of what to do. I went through three lawyers before I got a good one.
What do I know about picking a lawyer? Wasted $5,000 on the first two. One never did anything but wait for things to happen, the second went to court the first several times but the last straw with him was when he went to court and I didn't even know I had court that day. The ex walked out of court that day with MORE than she was asking for in spousal support and child support ( we had shared custody through the divorce ), and he told me to buy a cheap import car that gets good milage and make due.
I said it would be a cold day in hell when I did that and I fired his ass.
What saved me was the third lawyer was very good, and my ex was very bad. She regularly showed that her only interest was herself and not our child.
Life will get better. Hang in there.
I can't imagine what I would be doing right now if I had lost my kid in the divorce.
Don't talk bad about the mother to the kids, they will figure things out as long as you keep being a good dad. I don't speak of my ex hardly at all to my daughter.
Just keep being the best dad you can and keep the kids in mind for all your decisions.