Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: CUSTODY APPEAL QUESTIONS...Please respond!

Normally, an appeal on a custody case is expedited and therefore it will take a shorter time than most cases. Generally, that would mean from 7 to 12 months. An average may be about 9 months. That time can be expanded or shortened with the speed of the attorneys. After the notice of appeal is filed the court reporter prepares a transcript. The first brief is filed by the appellant (your ex-wife) and then your brief is due 30 days later. After your brief has been filed your ex-wife has 20 days to file her reply brief. No new evidence is taken, just the record from the trial court. The court will then ask if any party is requesting oral arguments, which are not mandatory and do not occur in the majority of family law appeals. The court will take about 90 days to make a decision, which is done in writing. Since almost all of the work is done in writing with no trial of the evidence you do not need an attorney from your county to write the brief. Pending the appeal the underlying order (the one appealed from) generally will be followed and so if that order does not prohibit travel outside of California, there is no prohibition.

The cost for me to respond to the appeal will range from $1,500 on up, depending on the issues. My quess is that a reply brief would be from $1,500 to $3,000. Payment plans are available. I have a number of briefs already on my computer and if there are no unique issues I can adapt those briefs to the facts of your case and keep your costs down. If you have a number of unique issues, the costs could run more. If you call my office for a free telephone consultation I might be able to narrow the price down.

Good Luck, Pat McCrary