Legal Question in Family Law in California

If we are ordered by a Californian judge to live separately, can we leave the country separately and live together in another country? We are not US citizens but have legal residency.


Asked on 7/23/12, 12:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

The powers of California court orders end at the borders of the state, unless the orders are presented to another judicial authority and adopted by that judicial authority in its jurisdiction, which is a fairly common practice. Unless one of you wanted it enforced in another jurisdiction, however, there would be no one to ask the other judicial authority to adopt it and enforce it. What you need to seriously look at, however, is not the legalities but the reason behind the order. Judges do not usually order people to stay away from each other unless there is a serious reason that they should not be together, most commonly risk of violence or other criminal conduct. So you should think long and hard about the possible consequences of evading the order, even if it is perfectly legal to do so.

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Answered on 7/23/12, 12:59 pm


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