Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
use of English language to convey legal information between 2 individuals
Hi,
By law, is English the mandatory language to be used to convey (verbal or written) legal information between two or more private individuals in California?
Legal information refers to my ex-wife conveying child custody, child health, child related matters information.
My ex-wife (born and raised in the USA) is using a foreign language to convey child related information. Although I do understand, I am not fluent in the language she is using (German), which could lead to conveying inacurate information.
I asked her to stop using German. She refused. Can a judge force her to use English to communicate with me when it relates to issues regarding the child, issues being ''legal in nature'' (like child health, child custody, etc..)
thank you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: use of English language to convey legal information between 2 individuals
The requirement that she provide you with information implicitly requires that the information be in a form you can understand well. She can't write you in code, in invisible ink, or in a language you don't understand. A language you sort of understand isn't good enough. If I were a judge and you brought this dispute to me, I would require her to write you in English.
This assumes that she is fluent in English, which your message implies but does not say explicitly. If she isn't, then some sort of balance would have to be struck. If your German is better than her English, then I might leave things as they are.
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