someone on here serves people court stuff..cant remember who? but I think they served a situation similar to this once...myabe they will see your post and can give you some thoughts/perspective

Maybe they are really packed away in a box somewhere, especially since she has moved in with her mother, right?. I think I know where my kids' pictures are... If my exH asked for copies of our kids' baby pictures, I would hesitate to give them to him to copy - my kids lent him a video once and it was about a year before he returned it.

Well my husband has been asking for 2 years and if there in a box somewhere then they must not mean very much to her.... My kids pictures on on the wall or in photo albums... If she doesnt want him to make copies, then why shouldnt she do it THE PHOTOS DO BELONG TO BOTH OF THEM.... My husband makes copies of everything for her.... But shes bitter and hes not....

I wonder if he were to tell her he is planning to make a photobook such as the ones on MyPublisher and if told her he would also make her a copy if she let him borrow the pictures. Tell her he'd really like to have the book before Christmas. It might be incentive for her to search for them if they really are in a box somewhere.

Great idea, Raek!

Great Idea... Thats what he asked her last year.. except he said he was making an album at CVS on their new photo book machine... He thinks he needs to sue her, but how do you sue for pictures that belong to both of them... He has even asked for pictures so her could make a few copies for his grandfather who is very ill... When they split up she took all of the photos to her mothers house even though she stayed in the marital home for about a year after...

I think he should at least give it one more try by asking nicely before taking her to court...you tend to get more out of people by being nice then you do by threatening and sueing every chance you get. How old is SS?

BF's X took all graduation pics, not only the ones done in a shop but also the ones done by BF, she didn't leave any for him and didn't leave any for the girls either. When they asked she said there are somewhere, can't find. She aso took baby pics, she took them out of the albums, but left the albums. So it took the long time to find out that albums are empty, people don't check on baby pics daily.

I don't know why people do that.

Maybe he can offer to come over on a Saturday afternoon and help her track down/unpack the box and offer to go together with her to the Kinko's or wherever if she is nervous about what will happen to the originals. If after this she continues to say no, I do think she is being inordinately stubborn for no legitimate reason. He might also try appealing to his ex-MIL, the child's grandmother, maybe try to get her to ask the same thing, as she'd probably like copies too...

Of course, I have no idea about the prevailing circumstances. No offense meant, Cat, but if he left her under some kind of crappy unsavory circumstance, I could more understand her bitterness (and especially MIL's!), not that it makes it right, just more understandable and of course harder to get the pix.

I agree about not pushing it to a level where it ges ridiculously nasty, but it IS his son's baby photos. (When my mom got mugged many years back, she ended up literally chasing the mugger down the street, which she said she would have never had the guts to do if my baby photos weren't in a wallet album in the purse... she wasn't going to let those baby pictures get taken away!!!)

I think your first instinct to send a certified letter is correct. In the letter you should mention the numerous times that you guys have requested the photos, copies from her, the ability to personally make copies and your willingness to pay for the copies of the photos. Be nice and polite and use the Christmas gift excuse again if necessary. I would do this just in case you do have to go to court over this matter. Hopefully you won't have to do it, but you never know.

Ok here goes.... He left her because she was having an affair (her 3rd or 4th) their son is 6.. he asked her to stop seeing her married boyfriend and she refused... so he left... almost 2 months later she found out she was pregnant... She then moved in with another man she met on the computer... after her son was born she moved in with the married man for about 3 months then moved in with her mother... She let the marital home go into foreclosure. meanwhile during all of this mess they divorced and she is now telling him that she still loves him and she is sorry BLAH BLAH BLAH... MIL is now doing everything for her so she is bitter to. He has offered several different options for them to go through the pictures together... She just refuses...

I believe being nice is a great idea... and besides kissing her **s I have tried... and so has he... I am just sick of going to court for stupid stuff... I am going to attach a copy of the letter he is sending her ... PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR OPINIONS???????

Dear Ms. *****

I have requested on several occasions over the past 2 years for you to provide me a copy of our sonÂs baby photos that belong to both of us. These photos are the ones that you removed from the marital home after our separation. I am willing to pay for the copies. If you do not feel like you have time for this as you have stated to me on several occasions I will gladly make copies in a timely manner and return all photos to you. I feel that you are intentionally keeping these precious photos of our son from me out of spite. If I am wrong, than I apologize. I have also asked for and have been denied savings bonds that were purchased by my grandmother for our son; these bonds are in my name as well as our sonÂs name. I am requesting that these bonds be made available to me, so that I can maintain them in my possession for our son. I would really appreciate you taking care of this matter so that we no longer need to argue over these issues. I am thinking 30 days should be enough time to make copies or provide photos to me so that I can make copies, if you feel like you need more time please let me know. Thank you for your prompt and courteous response as I am sure that if I had all of the photos you would want the same respect from me.
Sincerely,

I understand your/his frustration but I don't have an answer. My ex has some things of mine I would like to have, such as my high school yearbook and a piece of my china that got left behind, but 28 years later I still don't have them. They are of no use to him but I guess he gets some satisfaction in me not having them. Some of his mementos were in a chest I took and I allowed him to come in my house and go through it for what he wanted. I made sure I took my children's pictures and later I found some of his baby pictures and some of his parents and I sent them to him. He has never asked for pictures of the children which I would have given him. The court papers say he is to give me the items I asked for but he ignored it. Unless I want to spent big bucks on attorny fees it's a moot point.

Your letter is a very nice and polite idea - but the problem is that she's using the photos to get your attention - and it's working. As long as you keep asking and getting upset by her refusals, she'll keep it up.

I'd let it go for now. When your stepson gets older, get him involved in a family photo project. Kids always know where all the stuff is hidden in the house. He'll dig out the photos and you'll see them again. By then, she probably won't notice or care.

I agree that the pictures seem to be a source of control in this situation. I am the one that served an ex wife a summons & complaint because the ex husband wanted pictures of his kids from when they were growing up. Only, the kids were grown up and gone and he's still engaged in litigation over these pictures a decade after the divorce. (He was spending hundreds of dollars to compel her to appear in court and produce the photos that she was already order to duplicate at his expense but she simply refused)

My suggestion: Go get copies from his parents, siblings and other relatives who might have photos of his kids. When my siblings and I got older, we were also given photos of when we were small and I have many that I recently duplicated and gave to my dad. My sister actually has all my mom's old photo albums and I don't think my mom even missed them. (not sure if she gave them or if sis took them) But, maybe there are other ways for him to get copies of pictures, other than groveling or demanding from his ex. If the kids are grown, he can ask them if they have any pictures he can copy. But, I would disengage from her because the reality is, they are only pictures of the past and it is probably more important for him to concern himself with his kids today... in the present. I think if the mom is doing it to be vindictive, the best course of action is to ignore it and let it go. If she wants to stay engaged in this battle, she's loving every minute of drama she gets from it.

The purpose of the letter really is more for evidence in court. If you honestly believe you will go to court over this, then do a certified letter otherwise you should take the advice of the others here.