Legal Question in Family Law in California

What procedure is their for getting full custody when one parent can't be locate

1st, to clarify a previous question which was''What are my chances of moving & getting custody of my son?'' and your response was ''pretty fair. you dont need anyones permission to move with your son.'' you also explained �Its basically the wild west unless and until someone gets a custody order.� Now if I move 600 miles & then file for full custody can I file in the new city? & What city would the hearing take place? Is it possible I�d have to move back to my old city even if I lived in the new place for months?

2nd, What is the procedure for getting full custody when 1 parent cannot be located to serve the papers to? My wife has no current address or phone # that I know of, and she doesn�t contact me on a regular basis even though I live in the same residence & have the same phone # as I did when we were married. Do I just turn in the paperwork & have the Marshall try to find her to serve the papers to? If she is actually served the papers how long does she have to respond before she forfeits and I win? 30 days?


Asked on 1/02/02, 8:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
PATRICK MCCRARY PATRICK MCCRARY

Re: What procedure is their for getting full custody when one parent can't be lo

I was not the attorney who responded to your first inquiry, but I would recommend that unless you are in a hurry to move your best bet is to file an action here and get permission of the court to move. Since your wife has little or no contact with the children it his very unlikely that the court would refuse you permission to move out of state. You can serve her by publication, in which case the matter will probably go by default and you can obtain an order for sole legal and physical custody, which would give you the right to move. You should be able to complete the process before the children get out of school. Shop around for an experienced attorney at a reasonable price to make sure you eliminate any problems. This is not a matter that you want to gamble on, do it right the first time. Good Luck, Pat McCrary

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Answered on 1/02/02, 10:24 am


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