There Seems to be One Way to get an absentee father to get involved.............Money!

Mother And Her Ex-Husband In Court Over 9/11 Money

John Slattery
Reporting

(CBS) NEW YORK A Paterson man was in court Wednesday to fight for half of the nearly $3 million dollars awarded to his son who died in the World Trade Center attacks.

Leon Caldwell's ex-wife, Elie Goss-Caldwell says her husband hadn't seen their son Kenneth in 28 years and didn't know the 30-year-old had died until long after.

Kenneth Caldwell was a technology manager at the World Trade Center. He was single and had no will, so his mother became the administrator of his estate.

Elie Caldwell, who raised Kenneth and his two siblings, says the father abandoned the family when Kenneth was just two.

The victim’s mother said the father abandoned the family when Kenneth was just two, and feels her ex-husband’s actions are “terrible. I think he’s immoral. There was no relationship between Kenny and his biological father.”

Leon Caldwell said in court papers that the mother "prevented" him from seeing his children.

Goss-Caldwell, who lives in Philadelphia, says her ex-husband left her with her two sons when Kenneth was two.

The judge indicated that she would make her decision after 60 days of considering arguments on the law.