Legal Question in Family Law in California

She needs to get an attorney and get Court permission to move. We call it permission, but basically, she needs to modify her current custody and visitation order, telling the Court her plans to move away and suggesting a schedule so that father still has contact as much as possible under the circumstances. It could be changed to every other weekend, or something like that. The Court could make her responsible for all travel expenses, but that is questionable if he pays nothing. It could be they meet in the middle or each party makes the trip one way. Is he in arrears? Is there a Court order? Has she contacted the Department of Child Support Services? There are several questions that need to be answered before I can give her direction as to where to go first.

The bottom line is that he can't keep her trapped in poverty, and if he isn't going to pay child support, he has nothing to complain about. A good attorney will be able to get something done - either he pays enough support to keep her in the area (i.e., stops playing games and working under the table), or she moves so that she can carry his portion of the responsibility. That makes it HIS choice.

When the payor parent tries to hide income by working under the table, one remedy is serving formal discovery as part of your support motion. A well crafted discovery plan should assist in determining father's expenses which may point the direction to his unreported income. A skilled family law attorney involved in this case would greatly serve the needs of your daughter.