When determining child custody, the California family law courts are obligated to render decisions that are in the child’s best interest. Thus, in some cases, a court must make the difficult decision to terminate a parent’s custodial rights, based on the fact a parent has abandoned the child. A California…
It is not uncommon for a divorced couple that shares custody of a child to live in close proximity to one another, both for the sake of convenience and to benefit the child. In some cases, however, one parent will move far away, and may even relocate to another state.…
A child custody move-away case occurs when one party makes the decision to relocate outside of the county in which he or she was residing. Usually, move-away cases involve the complex issues that arise when a parent moves beyond a distance that permits for the moving-parent to continue to take…
While many people mistakenly believe that domestic violence is a problem that only affects younger people, it is an unfortunate fact that domestic violence can and does occur in every facet of society. If a court finds a party’s claims of domestic violence credible, it will typically draft a domestic…
DVRO CHECKLIST (CURRENT AS OF 12/1/2019) I. FORMS FOR APPLYING FOR A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY The following forms are mandatory for applying for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, unless specified as optional below. Please be sure to read each item on the below checklist. Please…
Custody cases often produce custody evaluations and other sources of sensitive information. As such, certain documents may be deemed confidential and both parties are prohibited from disclosing any information in the document. If a party, or his or her attorney, discloses information in a confidential document it can result in…
In a divorce proceeding, Family Code 2104 tells us what each party must disclose to the other party in order to advance the divorce case to a settlement conference or a trial: (1) Each party shall serve on the other party a preliminary declaration of disclosure, executed under penalty of…
I am often asked, “What should I do to prepare for Family Court Services Mediation?” The following are some tips to help you maximize your success at Family Court Services: 1. In custody disputes each party often tries to point the finger at the other party saying, “He is this”…
By Ethan M. Weisinger A client recently asked me, “What do I do about the enforcement of a child support order when both parents have moved out of the state where our child support order was made?” Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (“UIFSA”, codified at California Family…
It is not uncommon for either party in a divorce or custody proceeding to seek a modification of a court order. The non-moving party is entitled to respond to any request for a modification and can request affirmative relief. The non-moving party is not permitted to request relief that is…