CALLER: “My son has temporary custody of my two-year-old granddaughter. We’ve been trying to get permanent custody, and it’s been going through the courts little by little. It’s taken us two years, but now finally in December, we have a trial date. We’re doing this without an attorney and have been blinded at times at what to do. We’re not quite sure what to expect at the trial and I was hoping that Rick could give me some guidance?”
After a divorce, you may never want to see your ex again, but if you have kids, meeting during custody exchanges is likely going to happen.
Child custody disputes are common during divorce. But what about when there was no marriage?Who gets the kids? Do you even have any parental rights?
CALLER: “My Baby mama is trying to move to California for a job and she’s trying to take my kid with her. We have joint custody in our parenting plan. I have custodial rights as well, visitation is ‘meh,’ it’s minimal but I have custody rights, 50/50 custodial rights. So…What do I do?”
Child custody cases have a massive impact on your life and the lives of your children, so how you prepare is a matter of great importance.
Stepparenting and bringing distinct families together never goes as smooth and simple as on The Brady Bunch. Are there potential dangers?
CALLER: “I’m a grandparent, and the child is in foster care, the parents are trying to get the child back. The father has a lot of warrants, but he still continues to see the child under supervised visits. Is that legal?”
The length of a marriage has a lot to do with how a divorce plays out. Part of this is practical. In shorter marriages, there’s usually not as much shared property. On the other hand, the longer the marriage, the more intertwined the two lives become. Thus it becomes more …
The common refrain goes: “Mothers always get custody after divorce.” We’ve all heard something similar. But has that always been the case?
CALLER: “I’ve been married 19 years. Been with my wife for 21 years. I’ve been the stay at home dad and she makes all the money. What am I going to get out of this and how will it work?”
Divorce can be a traumatic event. Ending a marriage may throw your entire world into upheaval. After surviving this experience, many people simply want to get away and a relocation is an option. Some move to a new place to escape negative memories; to be near family, friends, or another …
Finding the best child custody lawyer for your case is one of the most important things you’ll ever do. Here’s how to go about it.
Divorce, child custody, and child support battles can boil over into heated, contentious affairs, but military service often complicates matters further.
CALLER: “I was recently divorced and currently have full custody of my son. He’s three-years-old and I’d like to legally change his last name from my ex-husband’s to my name. Am I able to do this? And if so is it fairly easy? And most importantly, does his father have a say because I know he would totally hate the idea?”
For single parents, it can be frustrating when your teenager wants to live with the non-custodial parent. Accurate advice for parents is critical.
Is there an age in California where a child can legally choose to opt-out of visitation and go against the schedule laid out in a parenting plan?
There are bound to be clashes as the custodial parent enforces the rules while the other gets to be the “fun parent.”
Recreational marijuana has been legal in California for a year and a half, how does this newfound status impact child custody disputes?
Leaving the marital home without having a strategy in place, can create a significant disadvantage throughout the rest of the divorce process.
It’s easy to make mistakes that hurt child custody cases, but here are a few common missteps that can sink a case and how to avoid them.
Not everyone who cares for a child is a biological parent. In some cases, the courts name a de facto parent. Here’s what that means.That’s not always an option, however. A biological parent usually has the inside track, but in situations where the child’s well-being is in question, a de facto parent may assume custody.
There are multiple types of child custody, and knowing details about each can help direct the strategy for a child custody case.
A Guardian ad Litem is an adult appointed by the court to represent the best interest of an individual (usually children) for a specific period of time.
Pet custody is an evolving legal area. A few states have legislation to distinguish pets from other assets and to protect their rights.
How does birdnesting work? Instead of the children bouncing back and forth between mom/dad, they stay put and the parents trade places.
It’s long been assumed mothers have an advantage in child custody cases, but is one parent more important to childhood development than the other?
Vaccines are a hot topic right now, and everyone has an opinion. The fallout from this conflict is everywhere, even in child custody disputes.
CALLER: “My wife is bipolar, I think. She’s physically, mentally, and verbally abusive to me all the time in front of my kids, and I’ve had it. What do I have to do to build a case when I do file for divorce that works in my favor? When the police come, it’s always this, ‘Little old me, I didn’t do anything,’ and they buy it.”
CALLER: “I have a daughter who’s five now and her mother and I were never married. I keep hearing people talk about parenting plans, so how do I get one? So far she and I have just kind of winged it. It’s been fine, but recently she’s becoming more and more flaky.”
The effects of divorce on children is often the first consideration of parents considering divorce. Here we explore “how does divorce impact children?”
“My sister left her husband and she does not want him to see the kids because he is involved with the law right now and he is unstable.”
CALLER: “I’m the grandparent of a 14-year-old, and mom and dad are not really capable right now to take care of her, how do I file for third party custody?”
TEXT-IN QUESTION “Does being convicted of a felony automatically prevent you from getting custody or visitation of your child?”
Ending a marriage is tricky business. But how can you divorce if there was never any marriage certificate filed in the first place?
The most vulnerable members of society, it’s tragic when parents don’t care for children. If you encounter a case of child endangerment, what can you do?
After parents split, a parenting plan lays out the custody arrangement. But what if the couple never actually married? Do you still need one?
Child custody cases are often heated and complex, but can your spouse give away guardianship of your child without your consent?
What happens when two divorced parents refuse to abide by a parenting plan? Can grandparents step in and help right the ship?
What’s parental alienation and how does it impact high-conflict divorce? Here’s what you need to know when it comes to these situations.
The decision to terminate parental rights isn’t an easy one, but in some situations it may be the right move for everyone involved.