WHO WOULD GET CUSTODY OF MY MINOR CHILDREN IF I DIE?

QUESTION:  If I have sole physical and legal custody of my minor children and I die, would the surviving parent automatically get custody of the children or would the surviving parent have to take my family to court?

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MY ANSWER:  On your death, the surviving parent would normally be automatically entitled to custody of your minor children. However, other interested parties could petition the Probate Court for guardianship of the minor children if the surviving parent is an inappropriate parent, is in prison, is in a mental institution, etc.

CAN I SEEK HALF OF CHILD CARE EXPENSES?

QUESTION: My child's father and I just received a modification of support per his request. I was not given any credit towards daycare expenses I have been paying, and the judge just mailed the new order. Can I now file and ask for 1/2 of child care to be paid directly to our provider? Our provider is my mother, who is licensed and in business in our county. She lives with me full time, and has been taking care of our child since day 1 so we can both work. Now that support has gone down due to increased weekend timeshare, I cannot afford to pay child care on my own. ================================================ MY RESPONSE: You should have brought that matter up at the last Child Support hearing. If you requested, at that hearing, that the father share in the child care expenses, and the Court denied your request, the Court likely won't allow you a second bite of the same apple. If you didn't bring that matter up at the last Child Support hearing, you could bring it up in a separate OSC, but you might not prevail for a number of reasons. A material change of circumstances has not occurred since the last OSC - the same circumstances prevail (other than the modification of custody and Child Support that resulted from that OSC). Also, the fact that your child care provider is your mother (as opposed to a 3rd party child care provider) could be a problem. However, it probably wouldn't hurt for you to file an OSC to seek an order for the father to pay 1/2 of the child care expenses (or even a proportionate share based on your respective incomes).

CAN I LEAVE CALIFORNIA WITH MY BABY?

QUESTION: I have a 3 month old baby and i want to leave California to move to Texas with my sister. The father of the baby did sign the birth certificate but is not in the picture. Is it ok to move out of state? I never married the father of the baby. ================================================== MY RESPONSE: Yes, you can move to Texas with your baby. There are no restraining orders in place to restrain you for doing so, and the father evidently isn't interested in a relationship with his child. You would best apprise the father of your move, and your Texas address, to protect you against parental kidnapping claims. Once your baby has lived in Texas for six (6) months, Texas will become your child's "home state" for Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction Enforcement Act purposes, provided no action for chid custody or visitation had been instituted in California before then.

CAN MY EX HUSBAND GET CHILD SUPPORT FROM ME IF I AM UNEMPLOYED?

QUESTION: I am a stay at home mom. I am remarried with 2 children. I have a previous marriage/divorce and a daughter. In 12 yrs I have only worked for 2 years when my current husband was out of work. My ex husband wants child support for my other daughter. I have no income. If I go to work, I will have to pay for child care for my other 2 children. which we are highly against. Can he get support? I am a noncustodial parent of my daughter with my ex-husband. ================================================== MY RESPONSE: It is unlikely that your ex-husband can get an Order for Child Support against you under those circumstances. In order to get such an Order, if you are not employed, your ex-husband would have to persuade the Court to impute income to you, i.e., he would have to prove that job opportunities exist in your locale that you are qualified for. There is a possibility that the Court could issue a seek work order to require you to seek work, since both parties are responsible for the support of their children. A lot of parents need to put their children in child care to accommodate their need to work to earn money, so a mere objection to putting your child/children in child care, without more, may not be persuasive to the Court.

WAS IT LEGAL FOR MY WIFE TO SECRETLY RECORD A PRIVATE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD?

QUESTION: There was a restraining order against me that lasted for one year but it had been terminated for approximately three months at the time when she secretly recorded our face-to-face private conversation. I had no idea that she was recording our conversation. Is the recording legal? ================================================== MY RESPONSE: If there was no restraining in effect at the time your wife made her surreptitious recording of you, granting her permission to secretly record the conversation, her recording of you was illegal and criminal, and you can object to the introduction of any evidence from that recording based on its illegality.

CAN I OBTAIN 50/50 PHYSICAL AND LEGAL CUSTODY OF MY DAUGHTER?

QUESTION: Is it possible for me to obtain 50/50 physical and legal custody of our 1-1/2 year old daughter? The mother and I were never married but we lived together prior to and including a couple months into our daughter's life. Since then we have split and she lives with her parents, while I live by myself. I have a stable job, and can support myself as well as my daughter. ================================================= MY RESPONSE: It will depend to a large degree of the amount and quality of parenting (and/or visitation) that you have done since you separated from the mother. If you have not had significant involvement in your daughter's life since then, your custody/visitation will likely be awarded to you in a Paternity case in steps, starting with a little, and progressing with time, potentially to a 50/50 custody share. You are advised to consult with and retain the services of an experienced Family Law Attorney to file and pursue a Paternity case under the Uniform Parentage Act on your behalf.

CAN I GET CHILD SUPPORT WITH A 50/50 CUSTODY AGREEMENT?

QUESTION: My ex and I have 50/50 percent of child custody of our 15 year old daughter. Can I still get child support? ================================================ MY RESPONSE: That largely depends upon your income and the other party's income. Child Support is based on each party's gross income (with certain deductions and adjustments) and the percentage of custodial timeshare. In addition, there may be add-ons for such things as extracurricular activities, private schooling, and other appropriate costs (such as child care for younger children where needed to enable the custodial party to work or go to school). Add-ons are usually shared 50/50, but if there is a significant disparity in the parties' incomes, a Court has the discretion, on request, to apportion add-ons based on the parties' respective incomes.