Legal Question in Family Law in California

''Presumed'' Father's Rights

I was married for 19 years and am currently(4-5 yrs) attempting to get a divorce. The question is my ex wife had several affairs one of which when she came back to me she was pregnant. I took her and her unborn child back into my life, watched as ''our'' son was born, she left when he was 9 months old I raised him as ''his'' dad for 5 years.She bounced in and out of our lives, she lives with her new boyfriend and ''our'' son now knows that I am not his biological father, and he has been instructed to refer to me by my first name and not ''DAD'' We have been through 2 courts in two seperate counties and both courts gave me custody of ''our'' son until the last hearing in which on one day(Tuesday) the Commissioner gave me physical custody of ''our'' son and on the next day(Wednesday) he called me at home to inform me that he was revoking my custody rights and now my ex-wife won't even let me see my child. My question is what rights do I have even though I am not''our'' son's biological father? The court appointed child ''psychologist'' said in writing and in court that I was the ''Presumed'' father by all rights and she even suggested that I be given custody of ''our'' son. What should or can I do? Besides drag this through court again?


Asked on 12/30/04, 1:40 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Damian Nolan Law Offices of Damian M. Nolan

Re: ''Presumed'' Father's Rights

I am, to say the least, astounded that a Judicial Officer would call you at home to adjudicate custody. I strongly suggest that you verify and authenticate the identity of the caller.

In any event, and in answer to your question, you have rights which need to be protected. You need to hire an attorney to assist you NOW. The money you spend on the attorney will be money well spent and you will finally have a proper resolution to your matter.

Regards,

Damian Nolan

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Answered on 12/30/04, 5:42 pm
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: ''Presumed'' Father's Rights

I have never heard of a judge or commissioner calling to say that they had changed their mind about an order. In deed such a change, if made by the commissioner, would appear to be invalid. Once a judge has made an order it cannot be changed. You should immediately check the court file and determine whether there is such an order in the file. If there is no such order then notify the commissioner about the telephone call. Then contact an attorney to prepare a warrant in lieu of a writ of habeaus corpus. This will give the police the power to break into the home if necessary to pickup the child. The child is then taken before the court and the judge will make a decision.

The other option would be to get a certified copy of the custody order and take it to the district attorney and request that the child be returned to you.

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Answered on 12/31/04, 10:46 pm


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