Legal Question in Family Law in California
How do I get a custody order changed? I was never told about the appearance.
I have an 8yr old child, who has been living with me 5 days per week & spends the weekends with her father. This arrangement has been in place for the past 5.5 years. Prior to this, the father and I lived together on and off. (We were never married).
During one of the "off" periods, he filed for custody & we attended Conciliation Court where an agreement was made. Within 1 week of the order being filed, I was arrested & incarcerated for posession of a controlled substance. While I was in jail,her father went back to court and had the order modified without notifying me.The new order stated that upon my release, I would be required to have monitored visits, until we returned to Conciliation Court. This return visit never occured, because we moved back in together. We eventually did breakup, but have not returned to court since then.
I am now married and want the custody order changed to reflect our actual arrangement. Can we do this ourselves by our drawing up a mutually agreeable, notarized document? or does the order for Conciliation Court stand?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: How do I get a custody order changed? I was never told about the appearance
If the father of the child is willing to agree to the visitation arrangement that you refer to you can make it a court order by entering into a written agreement. This written agreement would be signed by both mother and father. The signatures should be notarized. The written agreement is sent to court for the judge to sign and make it a court order. The form of the stipulation, written agreement, must comply with local court rules.
Many courts have pre-printed forms that can be used to write the stipulation. Some court also have family court clinics. These clinics will help you prepare the correct paper work. Local bar associations have referal services, you may be able to get help from an attorney.
Re: How do I get a custody order changed? I was never told about the appearance
1. You were "notified" or the court would not have proceeded in this instance, inasmuch as you were incarcerated and no threat to the welfare of the child.
2. You and he should prodceed to draw up the stipulation and order reciting what you wish it to say, have your signatures notarized and file it with the court with the appropriate court fee. It may likely proceed without a hearing and become the order of the court if they are busy. If not, the court may wish to look into the matter further since the court is concerned about the best interests of the child. If there were sufficient reasons for the original order, then the court may wish to satisfy itself (pehaps via Conciliation Court) that those reasons no longer exist.
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