Legal Question in Family Law in California

I would tell your ex that since he is not willing to conform with the court order, he can meet you at the local police station to pick his son up at the appointed time, and ask the receptionist or whomever you can contact there at the police station when you get there to have a police officer present to speak with dad and to get the phone number and address from him prior to allowing dad to take him. You could even call them ahead of time. Bring your certified order with you. That way, it doesn't look like you just denied dad visitation, but you wanted to know where your son was going to be. You want to keep the focus on him being uncooperative, so do not participate in it. I think that is perfectly reasonable for you to know where your son is staying and a contact number, especially if it is in your order. Just make sure you are not calling him for every little thing or harassing the ex or getting into an argument, because then he can use this against you. Treat the situation like it is a business and keep it professional.

You definitely need a modification, but if dad isn't cooperating and disobeying the current order (which is what it sounds like based on what you have stated), you may need to hire an attorney for help. Without seeing the agreement, if a right of first refusal was in the order, you should be allowed you to pick up your son at 2:30 when he goes to work. There are so many steps you could take, but you would really need to speak to an attorney in person to get advice appropriate for your specific situation.

In addition to the above, it may be a good choice to ask the judge in your motion for court ordered co parenting counseling. Even though you will have the cost of private counseling ( unless you have insurance that offset some if not all of the cost), the investment could be well worth it. Its far better to spend your hard earned money on developing a more workable parenting relationship that on attorney fees in repeatedly returning to court. The co parenting counselor can be an asset as well if you must return to court. The counselor can put in perspective for the court which parent is undermining the workability of the parenting plan. This information could lead to a parenting plan resulting in more restrictive contact between the offending parent and the child.