Legal Question in Family Law in California
Relocated back to same state as non custodial parent
I am the custodial parent of our 9 year old son and my current court order initiated in San Diego County but states that the ''mother resides in New Mexico'' as I moved away for 7 years. The visitation schedule is for an out of state situation. I moved back to San Diego county. The father insists on keeping the court order and is demanding our son for the ''entire summer'' as stated in the order described above. Is this court order still correct and must I follow it word for word as the father demands? I believe that now that I am back in the same state the visitation schedule would be modified....do I need to file a modification? The father is not easy to reason with and will certainly use this against me to file for custody! He has tried over four different times using any excuse and has not been successful once. What would be the ''proper'' way of doing this. The father already has threatened to take me back to court stating that I am ''keeping his son from him'' if I do not adhere to this ''out of state court order'' allowing him the ''entire summer''. The father has visited with his son twice since moving back to California and these visits were not in accordance with the above order.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Relocated back to same state as non custodial parent
To get the orders modified you will need to show a significant change of circumstances. Once that is done, the Court will use the best interest of the child test. The Court could order an 80/20 situation with 2 weeks every summer or more anyway. You could end up getting less child support. Even worse, the Court could even change custody to the father. Anything is possible. You need to consult with a good family law lawyer.
Re: Relocated back to same state as non custodial parent
You should file for a modification of the current order and you should do it quickly. If this is a San Diego County order, you will not get a court date until late June or early July. This is a change of circumstances and the order should and will be modified to one that is consistent with the parties living in the same state. Contact a child custody attorney, there are many pitfalls in a custody case. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
Reply: Relocated back to same state as non custodial parent
In a general sense, anytime there is a significant change in circumstances, there is cause to seek a modification of a custody\visitation order. Unless modified, it remains in full force and effect.
For a specific opinion regarding your individual circumstances, I suggest that you consult with an experienced family law lawyer. Experience is not expensive, it's priceless!
You will find some valuable information on various California family law issues including child custody by visiting my web site.
Good luck to you!
Brian Levy, Esq.
www.calattorney.com
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