Legal Question in Family Law in California

my wife and two children moved to nevada from california 11/15/2010. while out of the state of nevada on business my wife of nine years moved out of the house into an apartment taking the children. upon my return without a custody order in place we agreed to husband custody monday thru friday, wife friday night to monday morning. this custody was observed for three weeks until on the husbands custody during the school week, the wife with her mother removed the kids from school and fled to the state of california on april 6, 2011. husband obtained an order from the nevada family law court on april 7,2011 for the mother to return with the minor children which was personally served on april 10,2011. the appearance date for this hearing was april 15,2011. the wife was confronted by husband at social services office on april 13, 2011 and after 2 hour standoff with sheriffs in california, husband left with son and wife left with the girl. each parent was legally allowed custody since no custody order existed. wife on april 14, 2011 obtains restraining order against husband as to her and the two children. the restraining order were obtained without mention of the court order having been properly served with an order to return to nevada with the children and were not timely served with a valid personal service 15 days before the hearing.

wife appears at april 15, 2011 hearing and is asked to hand restraining orders to the husbands attorney and then to the judge. judge rules in favor of husband under emergency jurisdiction and demands wife to relinquish custody of daughter at 5pm at the sheriffs station back in california. wife prior to the pickup time files a false police reort of assault with a deadly weapon which she claims occurred in nevada after nevada court issued temporary sole legal and physical custody to husband. her report was in california where husband was to pickup his daughter. wife does not show at location and husband calls sheriffs for assistance to obtain custody only to be arrested by sheriffs for false assault with a deadly weapons charge. husband was held for 72 hojrs and when bail was offered at $ 50,000.00, they claimed it went up to $500,000.00. husband was released and told by detectives to register nevada order in california. husband registers order of sole custody and sheriffs still refuse to act on order. husband gets pickup order from nevada and sheriffs refuse to pickup children. husband returns to nevada court to hearing and wifes attorney files for motion to dismiss in nevada and judge denys motion and issues contempt warrant for wife again refusing to bring daughter back to nevada.

husband again tried to get custody of both his children (the son was taken from him when he was arrested on false charges) thru the sheriffs station so he went and obtained a restraining order as to his wife in california and an exparte temporary order of custody in california which is to be heard may 16, 2011.

as to the may 4, 2011 restraining order husband was not timely served and the california court who issued the restraining order that was not served prior to the april 15, 2011 hearing in nevada where sole custody was ordered by the nevada court, is the husband able to have the california court honor the jurisdiction of the nevada court based on first filed first served temporary custody order by a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction at her restraining order hearing that was not served before the april 15, 2011 nevada order of sole custody, was never timely served, and for which the nevada order to return to nevada was never mentioned to obtain the california restraining order?


Asked on 4/30/11, 10:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Not likely without hiring a California lawyer. Though this is really hard to follow, it seems that husband keeps trying to get California law enforcement to obey Nevada orders. It doesn't work that way. He is leaving out the key step of taking the Nevada order to a California court and having the California court enter a California order for enforcement of the Nevada orders. Without that, the Nevada orders are essentially non-existant as far as California is concerned.

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Answered on 5/02/11, 12:01 pm


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