Legal Question in Family Law in California
out of state visitation
I am concerned for the physical and mental wellbeing of my 2 grandchildren ages 9 & 10, the younger child is mentally challanged. The parents were divorced and full custody granted to the mother, the father was granted standard visitation, which he seldom exercised. At one of the many contempt hearing he had Wednesday visitation taken away.About a year ago the mother petitioned the court for permission to move to California with the children, permission was granted and visitation modified. She was ordered to have the children make weelky phone calls to the father and to fly the children non stop to Texas for most all holidays and school vacations. The mother was not aware until well after the hearing that the father had moved to Florida.There are no non stop flights between their homes. These unaccompanied children have been subjected to several hour ''lay overs'' in both Dallas and Houston. The father ''misses'' the return flights
which results in longer layovers and serious delays in returning them home, he has been as much as 1 1/2 hours late in picking them up upon arrival in Tampa. Who has jurisdiction? Is the mother bound by the Texas court, which
placed the children in this position? Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: out of state visitation
Dear Inquirer:
Nothing herein shall create an attorney-client relationship, unless a written retainer agreement is executed by the attorney and client. This communication contains general information only. Nothing herein shall constitute an attorney-client communication nor legal advice. There likely are deadlines and time-limits associated with your case; you should contact an attorney of your choice for legal advice specific to your personal situation, at once.
If you haven't already done so, please visit my
web site at --
http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com
The site contains quite a bit of general information about California Family Law, Tenants' Rights, and Juvenile Dependencies, as well as information about me (education, experience, et cetera) and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).
NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --
If the parents and children have all moved away from Texas, then the state where the children reside will undoubtedly assume jurisdiction. Mother should contact an experienced Family Law attorney in the county where she and the children reside for specific advice and possible representation on her behalf.
Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.
Re: out of state visitation
As I understand the current child custody order is out of the state of Texas and the parents and children have all moved from that state. In that case, if the children have been in California for at least 6 months, the State of California would have jurisdiction. Get a certified copy of the custody order from Texas and then visit a California family law attorney. The judgment will need to be registered and then it can be modified. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
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