Get free answers to your Child Custody legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I had a court date on March 11, 2025, regarding a parentage case. The respondent filed a request to quash the case, citing my relocation to a new county, but the judge ruled against quashing. During that session, the judge also confirmed paternity, and the respondent signed a paper acknowledging he... View More 
answered on Mar 18, 2025
Default occurs when the Respondent does not file a response to the petition for parentage (aka paternity; aka Petition to Establish Parental Relationship). The responding party is not necessarily in default because they do not file a response to other types of filings such as a Request for Order.... View More
I am a stay-at-home husband, a veteran with 100% permanent and total disabilities, earning $50,000 a year. My wife works part-time, and I cover all living expenses. We moved to California six months ago temporarily to stay with my wife’s parents, but our home and my insurance are still based in... View More
answered on Mar 15, 2025
Since no one has filed anything yet and therefore there are no court orders, you are free to move wherever you want. Since you have both lived here (CA) for at least 6 months, Mom can likewise, file here in CA and get custody orders in place, forcing you to bring the child back to CA from Ohio.
I live in a travel trailer owned by my boyfriend's parents on their property, along with my boyfriend and our baby. My boyfriend's parents are filing for custody of the baby, but they're pretending my boyfriend is initiating it. The custody paperwork states we are... View More
answered on Mar 11, 2025
Two very different issues here. One issue is a landlord tenant issue the other is related to child custody. 1) Generally speaking, yes, the homeowners can evict you from their property assuming you are not on any lease or other legal agreement with the property owners regarding your continued... View More
I am involved in a child support and custody case. The other party has not followed prior court orders and has failed to serve me. There are currently no court dates scheduled, and I would like to know if mediation is mandatory in this situation, or if I can move directly to seeking legal... View More
answered on Mar 10, 2025
mandatory mediation is scheduled once a party files a Request for Order for custody/visitation. If no such motion has been filed, no hearings are pending, and you have not been sent an order from the court regarding mediation, then you are not required to go to mediation or set one up.
I currently have a 50/50 custody arrangement with my son's mother, established in 2022 after a previous incident where she took my son to Texas, requiring intervention from the abduction unit. In October 2024, she violated our custody order by taking our son to Sacramento for two months and... View More
answered on Mar 9, 2025
Of course you have to introduce evidence at the hearing. Further, that evidence should be included in your moving papers with a supporting declaration to lay its foundation. Whatever happens in mediation is confidential. Nothing that is said in mediation is admissible in court. Given the... View More
One of the parents of a child currently living with both parents is concerned about custody issues. There is no existing custody agreement or court order in place. The parents are experiencing issues, and one has previously threatened to take the child. Can a parent file for custody of the child... View More
answered on Feb 28, 2025
Yes. A parent can file for custody of the child without a divorce or separation finalized in California. However, there does need to be an open family law case in order to request custody orders. A family law case can be opened in different ways depending on the specific circumstances. Here are... View More
My child's mother has requested my consent for her spouse to adopt my son in California. My son was unlawfully taken by her from Nevada, and she successfully petitioned for full custody in California. Attempts to contact her over the years were ignored. They have filed an adoption petition,... View More
answered on Feb 21, 2025
You are either consenting to the adoption or you are not. Once the child is adopted by the step-Dad, you will lose your parental rights and lose your right to make any demands including for visitation. If you don't want that to happen then you should contest the adoption. In some... View More
I am seeking to have a sheriff serve custody/visitation papers for a minor child, but I do not have the residential address of the person to be served. I have provided the minor child's school address and the names of the people he lives with. I live far away and cannot go there myself, which... View More
answered on Feb 21, 2025
The Sheriff, just like any other process server needs a physical address where the person to be served can be found. If you don't know their residential address, you can use their work address. If you don't know that either and you have done your homework and done your due diligence to... View More
I am seeking a pro bono family law lawyer to assist me with a child custody case. The father currently has full custody of our children, while I have reasonable visitation rights. However, he has kept the kids from me for almost a year and is now attempting to retain full custody and move out of... View More
answered on Feb 21, 2025
You are not alone. Millions of Californians seek free legal representation. Many in worse situations than yours. There are agencies like Legal Aid, but their funding simply cannot provide legal representation for everyone in need. Attorneys do strive to provide pro bono services more than most... View More
I have been married for 13 years, and my spouse and I have been living apart for more than 2 years. We have 3 children together, but no significant assets or properties. We haven't agreed on child custody yet, but I'm currently paying child support every month. I haven't started the... View More
answered on Feb 19, 2025
1) hire an attorney; 2) don't use social media, Google, or this website to teach you how to be your own lawyer. The court's website has a self-help link if you insist on handling this on your own. https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/divorce-california
How can I get the venue changed seems unfair to me and a conflict of interest
answered on Feb 6, 2025
You will need to file a motion to transfer a family law case (i.e. change of venue.) A family law case will be moved to another county if you can prove to the court a fair trial would not be possible because your wife works in family law in the same courthouse. My best regards. Rob California... View More
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Jan 29, 2025
For child support, it depends primarily on the timeshare and the parties income. See the statewide child support guideline. Spousal support depends on whether the support you're referring to is temporary or permanent/long-term, and even, FC 4320 would need to be applied regarding the latter,... View More
Question 1) My ex recently filed a Request for Trial Setting, but they haven’t yet filed their Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (PDD). I’d like to file a Motion to Strike based on the missing PDD. Am I required to use Form FL-300 for this motion? or just Autho & Memo, Decl. If I’m... View More
answered on Jan 11, 2025
First, if the other party has not filed their FL141, the request for trial setting will be rejected. Second, you do not need to file a motion to strike that request. Instead, filing an objection to the request for trial setting is sufficient assuming you list all the valid bases for objecting to... View More
How many times can a custodial parent refuse to meet up at the drop of location for exchange before I can file a motion for contempt?
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Jan 14, 2025
In California divorce cases involving child custody and visitation, the exchange location refers to the place where the parents meet to transfer custody of the children, particularly in situations where the parents do not live in the same household. The court may order a specific exchange location... View More
Me and my ex are going through a divorce. During the divorce process, she was arrested for child abuse so the court awarded me temporary sole legal and physical custody. She's facing charges of child abuse and taking anger management and parenting classes ordered by court & they put a... View More
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Jan 14, 2025
California Family Code Section 3044 establishes a rebuttable presumption against awarding joint physical or legal custody to a parent who has been found to have committed domestic violence within the previous five years. If there is evidence of domestic violence, the court will presume that joint... View More
Me and my ex are going through a divorce. During the divorce process, she was arrested for child abuse so the court awarded me temporary sole legal and physical custody. She's facing charges of child abuse and taking anger management and parenting classes ordered by court & they put a... View More
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Jan 14, 2025
California Family Code Section 3044 establishes a rebuttable presumption against awarding joint physical or legal custody to a parent who has been found to have committed domestic violence within the previous five years. If there is evidence of domestic violence, the court will presume that joint... View More
I filed ex parte for custody visitation schedule urgently and the judge denied but scheduled for the hearing 1 month later. However, I want to withdraw the ex parte hearing. Is there a specific FL-Form I need to submit, or can I create my own document for this purpose instead of calling the... View More
answered on Dec 18, 2024
If there has been no response filed to the ex parte or a responsive declaration filed/served, you can simply call the courtroom and tell the clerk you are withdrawing your motion or aka taking your motion off calendar. You can then file a "Notice of Taking Motion/RFO Off Calendar".... View More
I filed ex parte for custody visitation schedule urgently and the judge denied but scheduled for the hearing 1 month later. However, I want to withdraw the ex parte hearing. Is there a specific FL-Form I need to submit, or can I create my own document for this purpose instead of calling the... View More
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Jan 14, 2025
In California divorce cases, an ex parte application is a request made to the court for immediate relief without the need for a formal hearing or notice to the other party, typically in emergency situations where urgent action is needed. Common examples of ex parte applications in divorce cases... View More
My husband has sole physical custody and 50/50 legal custody. The mother of child is in a relationship with an active gang member and she has been posting on social media with guns and hasn’t came to any visits with her daughter for almost two years now. First she would just come knock on our... View More
answered on Dec 10, 2024
Technically an order is an order. I do not know how specific the order is that would allow it to be enforced by the police. However, you could seek to modify the order to be safe. For one this sounds like he should have sole legal custody instead of joint legal custody. He should not need to get... View More
The older stipulation states that I have primary custody,but the new one does not mention who has primary but says the other parent has visitation. Some things were changed in the new stipulation but not all.
answered on Dec 10, 2024
The word primary custody does not really mean much of anything. Im sure that it seems nice that it said that but at the end of the day What counts is the level of custody the two parties have. An order can say joint physical custody but if one party has only alternating weekends (20%) then they do... View More
Justia Ask A Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get free 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 Justia and you, or between any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions and you, 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.
