Q: Can I request my Joint Conservator paperwork from my lawyer and file myself from another state?
I am in the Army and stationed in CA. I hired a fathers rights attorney in Houston (where my daughter lives) so that I might be able to get joint custody or at least visitation. After 7 months, my lawyer finally let me know roughly two weeks ago that I had a court case this Tuesday 4/25. I let her know that I wouldn't be able to physically be there because of military duty. She said ok and let me know that my daughters mother would have to be there. Fast forward to today. I had to initiate an email this morning because I haven't heard from my lawyer in more than a week. My daughters mother said she hasn't received any paperwork to sign. My lawyer replied back to my email and said that because they don't have the signed paperwork from my daughters mother the case has been postponed until August. I am at a point where I want to file this thing myself because I leave for Korea in August and this could potentially turn into the never ending quest for joint custody. Any info would be great.
A: I think you meant joint custody paperwork and not conservatorship paperwork. In California, a lawyer would be required to give a client the complete file upon the client's request. The lawyer would have a reasonable time to make copies, etc. if needed. Since your lawyer is in Texas, the rules may be different about getting a client's file, but I would imagine they are very similar to California with respect to a client's file. California has a limited scope option in addition to a fully retained attorney option, which could save on costs. Since the posting is in California, you may need a California Family Law Attorney one day. Even if you don't have a lawyer in Texas, you should be able to represent yourself, but there could be issues since I have heard of Florida judges not letting an attorney off of the case even when both client and attorney want to part ways. Each state is unique. I would say it's safe to say that you should be able to get your file from the lawyer and file it yourself. Joint Custody paperwork is not difficult to prepare and file especially when the parties sign off on it.
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