INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1 . That I am the Respondent in this action, and I am making this affidavit in support of my Motions for Temporary Relief and in response to the affidavit and motions of the Petitioner. I am asking the Court to grant me temporary, and ultimate permanent, custody of our three children: Alexander, age 10; Stefan, age 8; and Rebecca, age 4, so that I may return with our children to our home in Sweden. It has been the plan for our family to return to Sweden at the conclusion of my contract. My contract to work in the United States has currently expired. If I am granted custody of the children, my company will allow me to remain in the United States until the end of their school year. I will then need to return to Sweden, with the children, in June.

2. If I am not granted custody, I will need to return to Sweden as soon. as possible. Until very recently, the Petitioner had agreed that I should have custody of the children. We worked out a written agreement in June of 1995 regarding custody of the children. That agreement is attached to this affidavit and identified as Exhibit A. (Although, Petitioner now claims that the document has been recently altered, the computer printout which is attached to Exhibit A shows that no alterations have been made to this letter since the day it was written.)

3 . Petitioner backed out of the agreement to allow me to have custody of the children after I refused Petitioner's request to immediately transfer $35,000.00 to her account. In her efforts to gain custody of the children, the Petitioner has embarked on a course of making up outrageous lies about me throughout the past several months. Petitioner started this process in November by falsely claiming that I have been abusive to her and to the children. After hearing testimony on this matter, Judge Anderson threw out Petitioner's domestic abuse petition, stating as follows:

"There is nothing in the petition nor was there any evidence elicited at trial that would suggest or intend to prove in anyway that Petitioner or her children were physically harmed or that they were threatened in such as a way to be in fear of imminent physical harm, injury or assault."

See Paragraph 4 of Judge Anderson's Order dated January 25, 1996 which is attached and identified as Exhibit B.

4. Despite having the domestic abuse allegations thrown out of court, the Petitioner continues to fabricate allegations of domestic violence and the Petitioner is now adding new false statements to her earlier charges. Rather than respond to each of the false allegations at this juncture, I would like to first give the Court the full story as to why the children should remain in my custody when I return to our home in Sweden this spring.

5. I have worked for the Tetra Laval Group of Companies for 23 years. My work for the Tetra Laval companies has required me to travel extensively. During the years of our marriage, our family has moved to different locations and countries throughout the lifetime of our children. The company is based in Sweden. However, I have been engaged in various local and international contracts throughout my employment that has taken me to different parts of the world. Following is a summary of the contracts that I have had since 1973:

a. 1973-1980, Sweden, local contract;

b. 1980-1982, Norway, local contract;

C. 1982-1988, Spain, local contract;

d. 1988-1990, Sweden, local contract;

e. 1990-199 1, Connecticut, international contract;

f. 1991-1992, Texas, international contract; and

g. 1992-1996, Minnesota, international contract.

6. In my current international employment contract, it is stipulated that our home country is Sweden. It has always been clear that, at the conclusion of my contract in the United States, we would return to Sweden. The company will pay for the repatriation of us and of our household to our home country upon termination of my contract. The cost of the move is approximately $20,000.00 to $25,000.00. This move has to be done on one occasion and the company does not pay for any temporary storage, cars or pets. Consequently, the company will pay for our move back to Sweden.

7 . Through my international contract, I am guaranteed employment in my home country, Sweden, under a local contract. Once I return to Sweden, the salary and other benefits will be changed according to local rules. The company is currently looking for a position for me in Lund, Sweden.

CUSTODY

8 . I strongly believe it is best for our children to return to their home in Sweden. In Sweden, my children will have an extensive family including 17 cousins ranging in age from 3 to 32. They have four next cousins ages 6 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 10 years that will live very near to them. Some of my best friends in Sweden, Arvid and Irina Vainonnen, have three children, ages 4, 7 and 10. Another good friend in Sweden, Asif and Monika Bokhari, have three children, ages 2, 7 and 10. This family recently moved to Sweden in 1995 after 10 years in Spain. Asif is from Spain and Monika is Swedish. Their two older children speak fluently in Swedish and Spanish and English.

9. In Minnesota, our family has not established any close social relationships with friends or neighbors as a family. The only social contact has been established has been between Petitioner and her college friends. During our three years in Minnesota, we have not had any social contact with a family that has had children our children's age.

10. Although I have worked throughout the lives of the children, I have been very involved in their upbringing. I am the parent who has been the most focused on the responsibilities to the children, both practically and emotionally. I have taken them to doctor appointments, attended school conferences, helped them with their homework, and arranged for daycare and sports activities. I have stayed home from work when the children are sick and I have picked them up from school whenever emergencies occurred. Although the Petitioner has not always been employed throughout the marriage, she has not generally been at home and the children have all been in daycare facilities since they were six or seven months old, even if the Petitioner wasn't working or attending school.

11. The Petitioner does not have the emotional, practical or psychological profile that it takes to be a single parent. During various intervals of our marriage, the Petitioner has openly admitted this to me. Twice, in 1989, and in 1995 as indicated earlier, the Petitioner has proposed that I should assume the sole responsibility for the children since she, when reasonable, recognizes that she is not "fit for family life". On both occasions, I have assumed this responsibility without any hesitation as to how it may affect my personal life or career.

12. In 1989, the Petitioner left our home in Sweden and moved to another location. We were in the process of buying a house together and I had to change all of the paperwork to reflect that I have been the sole owner of the home. During this time, the Petitioner became so depressed that she tried to commit suicide. The Petitioner is prone to major bouts of depression and refuses to engage in any kind of therapy to deal with her depression. Following her attempt at suicide in 1989, she was required to attend therapy. She quit the therapy after one session. Since then she has refused to ever return to therapy and she has refused to acknowledge any of the problems that has led to the suicide attempt in the first place. She simply chooses to blame her depression, the suicide attempt and all of her problems on other people.

13. Contrary to the Petitioner's assertions, the children would not have any difficulty adapting to a new environment in Sweden. The children have in the past adapted very easily to new environments and friends. In Sweden, 80% or 90% of the population speaks and understands English. Alexander has experienced this change two times during his life and Stefan has also experienced this type of transition. During the period from June to November of 1995, I talked with the children about moving back to Sweden, since that clearly was the plan. The children have always had a very positive attitude about returning to Sweden and their only regret was that "Mamma" had to stay to finish her school.

14. In Sweden, the children will be allowed to preserve their Swedish, Spanish and American heritage. Public schools in Sweden have English as a required course in their curriculum from grades 4-12. From grades 6-12, the children are obligated to choose a second foreign language. Children who have a different maternal language have the right to additional education in this language from kindergarten to 12th grade. It is my intention to enroll my children to master Spanish in this program. Therefore, I will make sure that the children have a broad background in all three of their cultures, Swedish, Spanish, and American.

15. It is interesting that the Petitioner has raised spanking as an issue as to why I should not have custody. Spanking was an educational method to control controlling which was introduced by Petitioner on the children when they were barely one years old. Her target would always be their heads and the "slapping" would always be hard and unpredictable for the children. The Petitioner also uses the practice of stuffing the children's mouths full of food and forcing them to swallow. The Petitioner also insults the children verbally and sends them to finish their plates in the garbage.

16. It is true that I have also spanked the children when verbal correction has not worked. I have always warned them in advance that if they don't stop what they are doing, they would get a spanking. My spankings have always been targeted-on their soft rear-ends and have been with an open hand. Since I don't believe that spanking is very effective, I have resorted to other methods, generally using "time outs".

17. The Petitioner is also falsely alleging that I have a problem with alcohol. This simply is not true. Both the Petitioner and I are both "social drinkers". We each enjoy a good bottle of wine or glass of brandy. We also have a drink or two, two or three evenings a week, preferably on weekends. I do not drink and drive. On the other hand, I have been concerned a number of times when I find some bottles empty after the Petitioner and her male college friends have spent late nights in our home doing "homework". Occasionally, the Petitioner's friends have become so drunk that they have had to sleep over in our daughter's bedroom. I have often expressed my dislike that the Petitioner's drunken friends spend the night in our daughter's bedroom, especially since my daughter addresses these drunken friends as Petitioner's boyfriends. I realize the Petitioner has the right to do what she wants with her own social life. However, I feel that the very indiscreet manner that she handles this in front of the children is harmful to the children.

18. With respect to the economic circumstances, I am asking that the Petitioner's child support obligation be reserved. I understand that the Petitioner is currently not employed and she may have difficulty finding employment. I wish to reserve the right to ask for child support whenever the Petitioner's economic situation changes. I also need to reserve the right to ask for child support in case the Swedish social security system requires me to do so.

INCOME AND ASSETS

19. My future income in Sweden will be approximately $3,000.00 per month. My net income will be approximately $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 per month. With three children to support, and not receiving any child support from the Petitioner, I will not have anything left to provide for temporary spousal maintenance to the Petitioner. The Petitioner does have an inheritance from the death of her mother and grandmother, and I suggest that she use some of that equity to pay for her school and living expenses. During our ten years of marriage, we have not built up any significantjoint equity. Much of what we do own was mine before the marriage.

DEBTS

20. 1 am not aware of any otherjoint debts other than our mortgage. I was not aware of the Petitioner's Stafford loan. My debt for the Volvo has been paid by me, since it was my plan to take this car back with me to Sweden. It is for that reason that I need a release of the lien from the Volvo finance. I would like to see the house in the United States sold. If the Petitioner refuses to sell the house, I am asking that she be solely responsible for the mortgage.

HOMESTEAD

21. I am also asking for temporary occupancy of the homestead along with all of the homestead furnishings in it, until I am able to leave this spring. I would also like to have the right to sell the house so that we can get rid of this financial burden. I have no objection to the Petitioner continuing to stay in the house until she can find a suitable place to live. The Petitioner and I have lived in the house with the minor children for the last several months without any significant incident.

AUTOMOBILES

22. I am the sole owner of the title to our two cars, but I am willing to transfer title to Petitioner for the car she is currently driving, the Honda Civic. When I purchased this car for the Petitioner in 1990, she refused to accept a Volvo because she could not handle such a big car. Petitioner cannot drive the Volvo. Recently, she destroyed the side mirror of the Volvo when trying to exit our garage.

MEDICAL/DENTAL INSURANCE

23. My employment in Sweden will not cover the Petitioner's medical or dental expenses. Therefore, I am asking that each party be solely responsible for their own expenses after my United States employment is terminated. I would not request the Petitioner to maintain similar insurance for our children, since the children will be covered by Swedish medical insurance once we establish residence in Sweden.

PENSION

24. My pension plan with the Tetra Laval Group of Companies is a replacement of the state insurance that I would be entitled to if I were a resident -of Sweden. It is not accessible until the day I retire at age 65, or the day I terminate my employment with Tetra Laval Group of Companies.

RESPONSE TO OTHER ALLEGATIONS

25. I find it very unfortunate that the Petitioner has resorted to making many false allegations about me. The Petitioner's false allegations about me have caused significant pain to me and to the children. Throughout these last few months, I have been humiliated twice in front of my children and the neighbors when the Petitioner and her friends have requested police assistance without any reasonable basis whatsoever. The Petitioner, by making false abuse allegations about me, has caused me to be looked on as a criminal by colleagues and supervisors at work, since the public opinion is greatly affected by the real abuse that occurs in many homes all over the world. I find that when somebody makes a false allegation about abuse, it really demeans the process, and is harmful to the people who are really in a situation of being abused. Tetra Laval is one of the biggest privately owned companies in the world and has always encouraged its employees to have high ethical and environmental standards. Being an international employee raises these standards and only the future will tell how Petitioner's accusations will affect my employment relations with Tetra Laval.

26. I recognize that Petitioner can be a good mother and that the children need her. If I am granted custody, I will do whatever I can to foster that relationship, despite the great geographical boundaries. I am dismayed by the fact that the Petitioner refuses to recognize my role as the father to the children. The Petitioner and her chosen daycare provider have disregarded my rights as the father and have refused my contact from November 21st through December 5th 1995. The Petitioner even instructed the dayeare provider to deny me all access to the children, even though the Court had authorized contact. (See attached Exhibit C.)

27. The Petitioner has also tried to have the school officials at Alexander and Stefan's school to expel me from their school with reference to the ex parte Order. When they informed her that they could not do that without a Court Order, the Petitioner kept the children home from school.

28. With respect to the financial allegations, I have paid everything that the Petitioner has asked me to pay.

29. With respect to the Petitione?s allegations that I have transferred money, it is true that I have returned my money to Sweden, since that is where I will be. On November 17, 1995, I transferred $25,000.00 to my mother in Sweden to be used as a down payment so that my parents could by me and my children a townhouse. I had notified the Petitioner that I was going to do so at the beginning of November, 1995. It was my intention that my parents should find something that we like so that we could trade homes that day since they can't take care of their current house. My father recently spent one week in the hospital due to pulmoniea and heart failure. He is 82 years old and in poor health.

30. During our residence and visits in Spain, the Petitioner deposited money with her family for future use. The cash I know about is from her check books. I know that the Petitioner has been receiving money from her sister in Spain during the past few months. I have attached to this document and labeled as Exhibit D, a statement showing that, in November, the Petitioner had at least $1,700.00 in her bank account.

31. I believe that the Petitioner's inheritance from her mother and grandmother in Spain, is worth about $40,000.00. I also believe that the Petitioner has access to that money in order to meet her monthly expenses.

FURTHER YOUR AFFIANT SAYETH NOT,

Axel Johansson

16 Febr. 1996