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Questions Answered by Tobie B. Waxman
2 Answers | Asked in Divorce, Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: Ex's attorney filed Prop FOAH without my knowledge and the Judge signed it.

We had hearing last week and the Court issued 4 page minute order regarding custody (very detailed) 2 days later. The judge ordered "The RP's counsel is to write Order after Hearing, serve it on the opposition for approval....etc". and I know the Court rule 5.125 and I was waiting... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 18, 2024

Immediately file an objection to the proposed FOAH and specify in your objection, the grounds for the objection. Be very clear. Attach a copy of the minute order to your objection (assuming the minute order is different from the proposed FOAH). Since the FOAH has already been signed by the... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: I would like to change my children's last name and file for sole custody due to parent abandonment.

The father is claiming he is homeless. I previously filed for child support and sole custody but I don't believe the filing was ever made official and put into effect. I would like to find out if proving parent abandonment automatically terminates the father's rights. I was previously... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 17, 2024

"I previously filed for child support and sole custody but I don't believe the filing was ever made official and put into effect" - filing a petition for custody and support, without filing anything else, will not result in you getting any court orders. Your case may still be open.... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce, Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: Court order for child's screen time/sleep due to co-parent's smartphone addiction?

We have 50/50 custody (3-4-4-3 schedule) of our 4-year-old child with my ex. I am deeply concerned about my ex's serious smartphone game addiction, which negatively impacts our child's sleep and overall well-being. Ex has promoted the child to play smartphone game for easier parenting for... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 16, 2024

There is no "device" you can use to monitor the child's sleep. You can get court orders however regarding a 4-year-old's use of a smart phone all together, regarding bedtime, and regarding bedtime routines, and regarding time spent on the smart phone whether playing games or... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law for California on
Q: Can I leave the state of California with my kid when there’s no custody agreement or restraining order
Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 16, 2024

Technically, yes. The question is, should you? Is this for a vacation with plans to return? Or are you talking about moving out of state with the child? If you are talking about relocating, moving without the other parent's consent and without a court order allowing you to do so, could... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Child Support, Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: If my spouse didn’t respond after being served can I continue the process

What my next step if my spouse hasn’t responded to the divorce paperwork

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 12, 2024

If it's been more than 30 days since spouse was served and he/she has not served or filed their response to the Petition, you can proceed with a Request to Enter Default. Once default has been entered you can proceed to the next step (financial disclosures), then to judgment (unless trial is... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law and Child Support for California on
Q: Under Ca law must a parent still pay support for an adult child with disabilities if that adult child moves out of state
Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 6, 2024

Whether or not a parent must pay support for an adult child depends entirely on what your court orders say. If there is no court order extending support for the minor past his/her reaching the age of majority and graduating from high school, then there is no legal obligation to pay support

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: I’ve been married 27 years how many years of Alimony can I receive?

I was a stay at home mom for 6 years, then working only a few hours a day for 13 years due to caring for my children. My spouse makes almost triple what I make.

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 4, 2024

Every case is different. Generally speaking, a marriage of 27 years is considered "long term" and therefore, potentially, alimony, if ordered, will not have an end date. For more information regarding what goes into the court's decisions regarding alimony (whether to award, in what... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Consumer Law, Employment Law, Family Law and Personal Injury for California on
Q: Motion to compel Discovery vs motion to compel further responses

The defendant refused to respond to requests for documents. After I filed a motion to compel, he responded with unverified boilerplate objections—past the deadline. Should I now file a motion to compel further responses and book a new hearing? If I do, should I withdraw the motion to compel... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 3, 2024

If the responses are unverified it's as if there were no responses at all, so you should/could keep your motion to compel on calendar. If he/she opposes your motion, you should attach a copy of the unverified objections, only responses as an exhibit to your Reply. You can also err on the... View More

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5 Answers | Asked in Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice for California on
Q: Will any attorneys in California take cases for retained foreign objects?

I had an appendix removal. There was retained foreign object left inside me during my surgery. It was not anything that would promote healing. It appeared to be metal shavings left in my stomach. I had an additional surgery to remove the metal that was left in me. The hospital sent it for testing... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 29, 2024

Yes, I'm sure there are plenty of attorneys willing to take a retained foreign body case. The problem with these cases however is that sometimes leaving behind a metal object, such as a surgical clip or staple, is intentional and not the result of negligence. i.e. sometimes leaving in a clip... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: My wife and I are starting a divorce, I took her off of my credit cards as an authorized user before she filed.

Her lawyer sent me an email stating I had to put her back on my credit cards immediately, that she relies on them and she needs to buy groceries etc. The lawyer stated she would get a court order if I did not. I took her off as a user before any divorce filings. I'm asking if this is something... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 28, 2024

Get ahead of it. File your Response to the petition and file a Request for Order to get support orders in place and court orders that limit her use of credit cards or enable you to either close out joint cards or keep one open for her use (just by way of example). Allowing unfettered access to... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Criminal Law, Family Law, Child Custody and Federal Crimes for California on
Q: Do I have the right to remove my child from her mother's cate if her mother is cohabiting with a gang member?

I just found out my exes fiance is involved in an active indictment for drug trafficking and weapons. She did not tell me this but I have found the info on the pacer website validating the information. My ex and her fiance went out of state with my daughter for the weekend against court order. Hew... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 27, 2024

Don't take the law into your own hands. If the current custody orders are not in your child's best interests then file a Request for Order to get them modified. If you think your child is in imminent threat of harm or there is an imminent threat to her health, safety or welfare, you can... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: What can I do if I'm not able to locate my husband I know a state he was in but he keeps going from state to state
Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 25, 2024

If this is for purposes of locating him so you can serve him with a Petition for Dissolution, find out his last known legal address, documents all efforts you have made to find him, and then file a motion with the court to get permission to have him served by publication. Otherwise, hire a PI.

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3 Answers | Asked in Family Law and Criminal Law for California on
Q: During a civil deposition how can you refuse to answer certain or all the questions?

Some of the questions will most likely be used to find personal information to harass me further... while other questions could be used again me in criminal charges... so how do you avoid answering them?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 20, 2024

Depends on the questions. Depends on the nature of the litigation. (i.e. whether it's civil, criminal, or regarding what, i.e. breach of contract? divorce?). There really isn't enough information here to assist. There are several different types of objections that can be raised in a... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: I think my spouse improperly served me FL 300 documents by serving them himself ?

I think my spouse improperly served me FL 320 documents. The day he filed them and mailed it out to me (proof of service signed by his girlfriend) he sent me the documents in image formats on the talking parents app. Basically he knows I have no lawyer and I don’t understand how to file or... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 20, 2024

Sounds like you were served by mail and someone other than him, signed the proof of service. Sounds like you were also sent "courtesy copies" by attachment to a Talking Parents communication. I don't understand the problem. Serving you by mail and having someone sign the proof of... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: I was served with divorce papers. We shared 4 pets and she is denying me custody or visitation. How do I get this added?

How do I get my request for visitation and custody of two of the dogs added to divorce settlement?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 16, 2024

You would address this in your response to the petition. In the interim (while the case is pending), you can file a Request for Order to get temporary custody/visitation orders for the pets. While generally speaking, pets are considered property in a divorce, a relatively new pet custody law in... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: Hello! I am in Los Angeles. I have been sent an email subpoena for documents with only one day notice. How do I object?

It was filed April 26 and the subpoena is for my personal bank documents. The subpoena asks for me to provide documents by May 10 but I just received the email May 9th. I did not receive any other type of papers or served in any other type of way but email.

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on May 8, 2024

I think you may be confused about what has been served on you. If you are a party to the case, you can be served with a request for production of documents; not a subpoena for production of documents. What may have happened is that you have been sent a copy of a subpoena that was served on your... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law and Child Custody for California on
Q: How do you enforce a verbal / signed custody agreement with both parents - if you never added it to the divorce ?

both parents verbally agreed to a custody agreement, signed a contract that was never notarized.

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Apr 30, 2024

Informal and/or oral agreements that are not court orders or part of your entered judgment are not legally enforceable. You can however, obtain new custody orders post-judgment. You can file a Request for Order or you and the other parent can draft and sign a stipulation and order and submit it... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law and Child Custody for California on
Q: I have 4 kids with my ex and 1 with my husband. 5 kids in total

My ex has 2 of our 4 kids living with him. I want custody of all the kids but he is refusing. Will he win just because he has a 5 bedroom house and I have a 2 bedroom apartment

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Apr 17, 2024

"just because" ?? Of course not. Multiple factors go in to deciding what custodial arrangement, aka "parenting plan" would be in the best interests of your children. How do you plan to accommodate the different needs of 5 children in a two-bedroom apartment? I think the first... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce for California on
Q: Is it possible to get married abroad twice if the divorce only happens in your home country ?

If I get married abroad and afterwards get a divorce in my home country is it possible to get married abroad again?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Apr 8, 2024

The location of the marriage is irrelevant. The location of the divorce is irrelevant. As long as you have a valid divorce, you can remarry anywhere you want. A valid divorce outside of California will be considered valid in California. A valid marriage abroad is considered valid in California.

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce for California on
Q: My husband and I took a 6 month break from our divorce bcuz my parents died. We had our 3yrs Can date ?

my divorce paper work is based on a 2 year marriage from hell . my parents died and we put the divorce on hold August-Feb 2024 we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Can I change the separation date?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Apr 6, 2024

You took a break from your divorce proceedings, but that doesn't mean you reconciled. Did you? Your date of separation remains as stated in your original petition for dissolution unless you are saying here that you reconciled and then decided again to divorce. In that case, you can file an... View More

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