Legal Question in Family Law in California

My parental right and my child's right

My son is going to be 14 in a few days. His father and I divorced 12 years ago and the court granted the father full custody while I was out of the country. We had mutual verbal agreement on unlimited visitations, until the father married his current wife 7 years ago. For the past 7 years, it's became more and more difficult for me to visit my son. I only get to see my son one Saturday a month and 3 1/2 hours every other week for the past 5 years with very few exceptions of over-night occasions. They had threatened to take me to court for back child support if I seek for legal action to get my parental right, even though it was the ''verbal'' agreement we had that I rather spend the money on my son's education and sport equipments, knowlingly that if I had paid them child support, my son wouldn't get any benefit from it. (his step-mother took and uses several gifts I bought for my son).

I'd like to find out what my son's legal right is and where my parental right stands at this moment. My son express more than hundreds times that he misses me and wants to spend more time with me, when I asked his father for more time, he jus ignores me or comes up with all the excuses to make my son and me feel bad.


Asked on 6/26/01, 2:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates

Re: My parental right and my child's right

In California, child support cannot be awarded retroactively. In other words if there was no previous award, then you do not have to pay. If there was a previous award of Child support, and you are in arrears, then you would be forced to pay irregardless of what you think the money should be used for! You can go to the court and work out a reasonable payment plan on the arrears, and get visitation formailized, or maybe modified so that you could have custody. If you are in SoCal and want a free telephone consult call me at 818-998-1584

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Answered on 6/29/01, 4:19 pm


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