Q: I live in Ca. I Have joint custody of my kid who lives between CA and AZ. I want equal physical time. Where do I start?
I was married in CA in 2009. Moved to AZ and bought a house with ex husband in 2010 with newborn. Filed for divorce myself with no lawyer in 2011 and it was granted 9/2012. The divorce decree and parenting plan is archaic and based on the naivety of a young me in my 20s who somehow thought I could live with my ex post-divorce. Because we both owned the house I was trying to secure my stake in ownership. Turns out I couldn’t live that way and had to leave. In 2014, he agreed to let our daughter come to Ca with me. He didn’t oppose until I filed for child support in Ca against him because he had not visited her or sent money in 6 months. He counter petitioned to have her back in AZ. AZ judge was lazy and stubborn, only took one look at the address on the divorce decree (AZ) and required I take her back or be jailed, DESPITE having 50% custody. Now that COVID is forcing schooling online, I want to enforce my 50% and physically have her 6 mos/yr. also need help with title/mortgage issues.
A: It would be necessary to review all of your current court orders and the Decree to adequately provide advice on your current issues. There appears to be grounds to review and request changes to your current Legal Decision Making and Parenting Time Orders. There has been at least 5 years since your last court proceeding and indeed the world has changed during that time period. As for the title/mortgage issues, your Decree would dictate what was to occur in this regard. It may be that you need the Decree enforced in order to resolve this issue. Once again, a thorough review of the Decree would be necessary. I suggest you schedule a telephonic consultation with an experienced family law attorney to address these matters in greater detail.
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