Q: What can I file when I cannot afford court ordered child council?
My ex, and his attorney went to court on emergency ex parte they asked for my visits to be temporary paused The way I am reading the order is confusing. I don’t know whether it was denied or not either way my ex is in contempt. I haven’t seen my daughter in a month. Also at the ex parte hearing I wasn’t present at I was ordered to pay for child council in the amount of $1500. I simply don’t have that nor do I have a way of getting that due to how much debt I am in I was recently homeless and that put me in more debt surprisingly and I need to file a motion stating that I cannot get the money because I simply literally cannot. I’ve applied for loans to get my own attorney and I’ve been turned down everywhere. My friends and family don’t have any money to spare and if they did, I probably would’ve never been homeless. What do I do to prove I literally have no means of paying this and how do I get the judge to re-order my ex to pay for the full child council retainer?
A: You can file a Request for Order (FL-300) to request a modification of the child counsel payment order, outlining your financial hardships and providing any evidence, such as pay stubs or bank statements, to prove your inability to pay. In the motion, you can also ask the court to find your ex in contempt for violating existing orders. Generally, the court will consider both parties' abilities to pay when ordering payments for child counsel, so you may request that the judge order your ex to pay for the full retainer if it's established that you cannot afford it.
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