Legal Question in Family Law in California
Jurisdiction
My sons father and I seperated about 7 months ago, in the meantime we were sharing visitation around work schedules and I decided to move to southern California and he stayed in Northern California...now we are having issues with visitation plans and he won't let me see him. I want to file here and I was told that I could do that and then told by others that I cannot. I also want to file a restraining order and I was told that if I filed a restraining order that I could file for custody here in southern california. Please tell me if I can file here since the restraining order should be filed here too right??
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Jurisdiction
You may file in So. Cal. and move to change venue to So. Cal. Contact me directly.
Re: Jurisdiction
Usually, custody and visitation should be heard where the child resides. If you have good grounds for a restraining order, then you could take a chance of filing where you live and request custody at the same time.
Re: Jurisdiction
The issues are too complex to give you an answer that has any credibility. I suggest that you talk to an
attorney so that he can obtain all of the relevant facts. Generally, the custody action should be filed where the child lives or has lived for the last 6 months. If he has been living with you over one half of the time during the last six months then the county where you live would be proper. If he has not been with you over one half of the time, then you should file in northern California, otherwise you may run into a lot of time and expense with a change of venue motion. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
