Friday, January 21, 2011

WHAT TO DO ABOUT CHILD SUPPORT IF YOU ARE LAID OFF; WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FORMER SPOUSE INTERFERES WITH YOUR CUSTODIAL TIME

DONALD F. CONVISER, a Certified Family Law Specalist, owner of Warner Center Law Offices in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley, an effective and aggressive Family Law and Divorce Attorney serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years, offering a free confidential consultation regarding your divorce or family law issues, at 818/880-8990, brings you an informative and educational blog, responding to questions posed to him about Divorce and Family Law.

I frequently receive questions from people regarding their family law issues. The following is a question which the inquirer agreed may be publicly revealed, and my answer to the question:

QUESTION: Can you change the determinations made in a divorce if circumstances change? If someone uses the same divorce attorney and the divorce becomes final, can the terms be changed later? For instance, they said they would share custody of the children, but every time it's my brother's turn to have the kids for the weekend, his ex-wife comes up with a reason why she needs to keep them. Can he get custody in writing even though the divorce is already final? Also, his child and alimony payments were determined on his last two years of work. He has since lost his job and the ex-wife makes more than he does. Can you and how do you adjust the required monthly payments? He "owes" her $5000/month but doesn't have a job. How is he supposed to pay this? Thank you for any help you can provide. Signed, a worried sister

ANSWER: You were wise to seek advice on behalf of your brother.

To deal with his unemployment, your brother should file an Order to Show Cause to modify Child Support, supported by his Income and Expense Declaration, reflecting in his supporting declaration the date and fact of his being laid off from his job, and his unsuccessful efforts to find new employment. The Court won't modify Child Support retroactively to a date prior to his filing that Order to Show Cause, so he should not delay getting assistance, preferably from a Family Law Attorney, but if he can't afford that, some courts have clinics available to assist people in preparing documents and to advise people regarding the necessary procedures. Based on the facts you relate, your brother should be able to get a Child Support Order requiring his ex-wife to pay Child Support to him.

To deal with the custody/visitation difficulty that your brother is having, I am assuming from your question that the judgment only provides for joint Child Custody. If that is the case, and the specific days and times of your brother's physical custody of the children are not spelled out in the divorce judgment, I would suggest that the Order to Show Cause that your brother files include a request for a modification of Child Custody, to spell out particular days and times each week (plus alternate holidays, birthdays, etc.) for your brother's physical custody of the children - and in his supporting declaration, he should set forth the problems he has experienced with his ex-wife about his time with the children, and set forth a "parenting plan" providing the days and times he wants his children to be with him, and the days and times he wants his children to be with his ex-wife.

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