Legal Question in Family Law in California

My two kids are going to start staying with me from now on. I wanted to know if having this having this noterized is sufice or do I need to file this in court. My kids (14 and 12 years old) have stated that they want to stay with me and my wife. Ex is in agreement, but said she does not want to file any court papers. What should I do. My kids are much better of with me.


Asked on 8/03/10, 11:58 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Rhonda Ellifritz Law Offices of Rhonda Ellifritz

You need to at least go to court for a modification so that if problems occur in the future, you have something to show police. I know, nobody expects problems, but they occur often enough that you need to protect yourself. You should also get the child support changes signed off by the judge. If you don't want to hire an attorney to do the court appearances, you can contact your local family law facilitator's office. There are even attorneys, such as myself, who can draft the agreement you two have come to, and you do the court filings and appearances yourself, since this is agreed to. To just try to write up an agreement that you two come up with or a paralegal drafts is just not a wise thing to do. Doing it right keeps the peace.

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Answered on 8/09/10, 12:20 pm

Ms. Beers is right, especially about the support issue. If you were to have a blow-up with your ex, and the court orders are still for support based on your old custody schedule, you could be hit with HUGE arrearage charges.

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Answered on 8/09/10, 4:46 pm


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