MovieChat Forums > The Christmas Secret (2014) Discussion > One thing bothered me....

One thing bothered me....

posted 9 years ago by Rpdsf
14 replies | jump to latest

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie however one thing bothered me. How is it possible that the ex husband can petition the court for custody of the kids when he hasn't paid any mandated child support for 6 months. Seems that the last thing he woukd want to do is appear in court and have that come out. It also seem like a good counter arguement to deny him custody since his failure to pay contributed her her financial difficulty. Just didn't make sense to me. Probably a sloppy plot twist on the part of the screen writers.

[–] Raven1231 9 years ago

I was thinking that also. I'm reading the book now and they mention it in there. They also describe Christine's ex as a guy who thinks everyone around him is inferior and in the wrong as opposed to himself. So I think it may be something the movie failed to mention which would explain his audacity to take such a step. Here's the part in the book that talks about it:

I sighed. It never ended. “Do I have to let him see them next weekend?”
She pulled sunglasses from her purse and slid them on her face. “No,” she said. She paused and I wondered if she was stepping out on a limb, telling me more than she should. “Different states have different rules but due to his negligence in paying child support, I don’t think there’s a judge in this state that would force you to do that.” She threw her hand in the air and I watched as she got into her car and backed down the driveway.

[–] Rpdsf 9 years ago

Thanks for clearing that up with the passage from the book. Like I said, sloppy writing. It wouldn't have taken long to include that in the movie.

[–] Strawberrry35 9 years ago

Many years ago my ex petitioned for custody and he owed me thousands in child support, he decided to go to school and not work, so for nearly two years he didn't help me with anything. He was fortunate to have mommy and daddy pay his way, while I struggled as a single mom living alone with my child.

[–] Rpdsf 9 years ago

I hope you finally got everything that deadbeat owed you and then some....his parents obviously weren't any better than him leaving you to fend for yourself and your child, their grand child, without. Some states fortunately take failure to pay child support very seriously and the offending spouse can have wages garnished, property seized, or even be jailed for failing to pay. All states should have those laws.

[–] DarkStormyNight 9 years ago

It seemed pretty obvious that while the father may have loved his kids, he was not a good father (having walked out and not paying child support) and simply wanted to get back at the mother. I think it is possible for someone to petition, even when there isn't a chance in heck that a judge in their right mind would grant custody. He was thinking more about getting back at and hurting the mother, and less about how he looked or the care of his kids.

[–] Livana_Faolan 8 years ago

You're giving him far too much credit. I don't believe he loved those kids. If he did, he would have paid child support. The only person he loved was himself.

"When I say, 'Whoa!' I mean, 'Whoa!'"
(Blaznee, "Spaced Invaders")

[–] MissAngelCakes 9 years ago

The thing that bothered me the most is that she can wear her hair down while she works in the bakery.

[–] ashmedan 7 years ago

Lol. "Is that a hair in my sticky bun?" -grandpa, probably.

[–] magneto9 9 years ago

Yes, that was really annoying. Who would listen to a father who didn't financially support his kids or help care for them. The other thing that bothered me is the ages of the Grandparents. His grandfather seemed more like he would be his dad. Same with Betty, she did not seem like she would be old enough to be her grandmother. When she was looking at the sons pictures my husband said, oh that's her father, and I said, I don't know I think he would be too young. I looked on IMDB to check ages of the elders and there were no bdays listed. But it did say that the step grandmother had a daughter the age of Christine.

[–] thotuknew 8 years ago

How was that annoying? If the grandmother married young and most likely had her son young and then her son had his daughter young and his daughter had her children young then perfectly possibly and almost normal. If each generation had a child between the ages of 18 and 20 then the looks of the cast is perfect. Personal example My grandparents were 21 when my mom was born, my mom 19 when I was born and my first child I was 19. My mom looked more like my sister and my grandma my mom, so very plausible. Yes I realize the post is almost a year old, but was trying to understand your logic.

faith begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[–] allisonjoys 7 years ago

I agree with you magneto, the ages all seemed a bit off.

[–] artistathome 7 years ago

the fact that the courts did not even know he hadn't paid child support was odd.
and there was that woman asking all those questions like the mom had done something wrong.

The movie was just ok and that part was so wrong. no one is going to pay any attention to a father wanting custody of his kids if he won't pay child support.
does that sound like a good father?
no.

the movie fell apart on that one thing.

[–] Gromit26 7 years ago

The courts and dcf can be suprisingly unknowledgable about what is going on between departments and even jurisdictions. My friend has gone to court several times for his daughter because the mother likes to use their daughter as a tool against him. Often they don't have all the info, can't use info collected by dcf for past cases and when they tried to get the ongoing cases to a different court since they both moved they didn't do it because the judge was afraid the file should would get lost in transport.

fact: 87.3% of IMDB users belong to the secret society of cynics.

[–] daveyh (576) 3 years ago

extremely late to the discussion here, but I don't think the issue is that he had the audacity to petition for custody. The issue for me is that the lady from child services or wherever seemed to think he had every chance of getting it - when it was first raised, she even said something to Christine about how she'd better hope for a Christmas miracle.