Legal Question in Family Law in California
Can my mom and kids stay in the house?
Hello. I am so sorry to bother you. I am writting this email because I have a question that I hope you can help me with. My mom and dad have been together for 20 yrs and my dad decided he wanted to have a girlfriend younger than me. He never comes home from work until 10 or later. They have 4 kids. Me my two brothers 16 and 9 and a sister 7. My mom is the one that has been doing everything for us. She takes them to get clothes when they need them etc. I am so sorry for rambling on. I will get to the point. My dad has been very abusive verbally now and my mom has finally gotten the courage to get a divorce. However she wants to make this as easy as possible on the kids. Her main concern is that she doesn't want to have to leave the house. Is there anyway we can have my dad move out and my mom and the kids remain in the house. A move as well as a divorce would be too hard on the kids, but my mom can't live like this anymore. If you can give me any advice at all it would be more than appreciated if not then I understand. Thank you so much for your time.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Can my mom and kids stay in the house?
Hi there:
Usually judges let moms and kids stay in the house, usually permanently, but at least until the mom can figure out the best thing to do.
In almost every case, especially where there's 4 kids, the mom gets the choice of whether to stay in the house. No judge is throwing your mom out! She'll have plenty of time to decide what to do.
Your mom needs to see a lawyer to figure out her rights & make some plans about the future.
She won't know if staying in the house even makes sense until she thinks about things like whether it's affordable, if it needs a lot of work that would make it more of a hassle to keep than to sell, whether it requires so much maintenance that she wouldn't have time to spend with you kids since she's spending all of her time mowing the lawn (or similar tasks), or whether it takes up so much of your family budget that you'd be happier in a condo or apartment that requires less upkeep and $$ each month.
Those are all things she'll need to think about before she decides if she even WANTS to keep the house.
She'll have time to think about those things and make those decisions. Please try not to worry about that stuff. Let the adults worry about their problems--this is not kid stuff.
Good luck!
diana mercer
Re: Can my mom and kids stay in the house?
YES, YOUR MOTHER CAN FILE A MOTION REQUESTING THE COURT TO ORDER YOUR FATHER LEAVE THE FAMILY RESIDENCE BASED ON THE FACTS YOU HAVE STATED. THE REMAINING ISSUE IS FINANCIAL SUPPORT. YOUR MOTHER CAN ALSO SEEK CHILD SUPPORT AND SPOUSAL SUPPORT (IF SHE IS ENTITLED TO ANY) FROM YOUR FATHER. IF YOU LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND NEED AN ATTORNEY PLEASE CALL MY OFFICE FOR A FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION AT 310-839-7700.
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.
