Ventura, CA asked in Divorce for California

Q: Getting divorced, Currently living in CA but moving back to NM. Should I wait for it to be finalized before move?

I have a 4 year old son and I work 40 hours a week but am still the lower wage earner of the house. I'm trying to find out if its a horrible move to leave CA before the eventual court hearing or not. I heard from family and friend that if you give up your rights you don't have to pay child support and stuff like that but I've heard differently from the court house itself.

Keep in mind I don't want to move to NM because of my son but I have no family or anything here to stay with once this is all finalized and the cost of living is way to high for me at my present state.

If I can get contact info to whoever answers this if they have time/want to help me further I would appreciate it. I don't have the money to hire a lawyer to ask all these questions to.

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
Andy Chen
Andy Chen
Answered
  • Modesto, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: You don't have to wait for the divorce to be final before leaving CA. Many people who are getting divorced get better jobs or in to school or other similar things and they cannot afford to wait. As long as you participate in the finalization of your case (e.g. file all papers you're supposed to when you're supposed to, etc), you should be fine. I have had clients move before their divorce is final and I was able to get the divorce granted anyway.

If you do move, it will make things **MUCH** easier if you have someone you trust in Ventura (does not have to be a lawyer) who can take papers to the courthouse to file them for you. You can file stuff by just mailing them to the courthouse, but that takes time. i usually budget at least 3 weeks (15 weekdays) for file-by-mail to work.

Andy

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.