Legal Question in Family Law in California

Whatcan i do now?

Nov.2005 my son and his mother

were victims of crime (mother's then boyfriend shot them)C.P.S gave me temp custody.but i never recieved any documents or went into court,C.P.S told me that my son went back with his mother when she fully recovered and relocate(place of crime was my sons room,so i didn't want him there) this was all a verbal agreement between me ,mother and CPS worker .Then in Sept.06 i filed for custody because the mother wanted my son back but didn't want to relocate,when I went to get any documentations from the CPS worker he was relocate/gone and CPS didn't have anything but the intial case report.I ended up recieving joint legal custody,with visits every other weekend.now she's trying to cause problems so i don't get my visits. I REALLY DO NOT WANT MY SON THERE AT THE SAME HOME WHERE THE CRIME TOOK PLACE.


Asked on 5/26/07, 7:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Elizabeth L. MacDowell Law Office of Elizabeth L. MacDowell

Re: Whatcan i do now?

Even if you found the CPS worker, your verbal agreement with him/her is basically meaningless as far as custody orders in family law court. If you are concerned about the saftey of your son then bring this to the attention of the court. If you feel your son is in immediate danger - e.g., the boyfriend is still around, then you may want to seek restraining orders in the family law court and/or or call CPS. But if you are concerned about the emotional impact of living in a crime scene only, you have a harder argument. The child is in fact living there, and so the question is, how is he doing? Many crime victims continue to live in their homes. Unless your ex unreasonably refused a witness protection program or the like, it is hard to see a court ordering a move. I would be more concerned that the child was getting proper therapy. In general, and to address the problems you are having with your visitation, you may want to seek legal advice about whether orders for a custody evalaution and/or minor's counsel would be an option for you. You might also want to consider joint counseling or mediation with your child's mother in order to discuss your concerns and what is goign on with your visits.

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Answered on 5/27/07, 2:08 pm


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