Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: change of venue and child custody

The court will grant a change of venue since the child and neither party is currently living in Northern California. Southern California is the proper venue. I suggest that you ask the father to stipulate to changing venue to avoid court costs for both of you. You may be able to get your attorney's fees from him if he fails to agree. When the matter is changed to San Diego County you can then ask to modify the order. Based upon her age, that would seem appropriate, but it does depend upon the judge. Good Luck, Pat McCrary

Re: change of venue and child custody

yes, you can get a change in venue.

Re: change of venue and child custody

It really appears as though you are asking more than one question. The first question is: If I take him to court will I be likely to get some visitation on her school breaks? The second questions appears to be can I change the venue of the case to another locations since neither of us live in NOrthern California any longer?

Lets , take the easy questions first. In regards to changing venue, yes it is possible to change venue however you must have a reason and most courts will not just grant a change of venue without good cause? Basically it really depends on the argument you use as to whether venue will be changed. However I believe you have a good argument, but the without more information I have no idea what a court will do.

Now for the second question: Will the court give you some visitation time during her breaks? I do not know enough about the facts surrounding your custody and visitation arrangement to answer your question. What I can tell you is the courts are generally wanting Children to spend as much time as is possible with each parent. Generally it is in the child's best interest to have frequent contact with both parents. Perhaps offering dad some alternative time might avoid a court battle and achieve the goals of all concerned. To answer your question from the facts you have provided you have a shot at getting some visitation time during her breaks, but it really depends on other issues and how much time Dad gets with his daughter.