Can Your Child Choose Where They Live? When you are facing a custody determination, your child might have opinions about where they want to live. Will the court listen to your child? How much does their opinion matter? The answer is that it depends on the situation. First, the court will always listen to the opinion of a 14-year-old child…
In a nutshell, yes, a custodial parent might be able to move with a child. There are some important requirements and limitations, however, as well as many things to consider. For example, the situation becomes more complicated if you are moving far away or if the other parent opposes the move. Communicating with Your Ex If you and your ex…
In the big picture, no, it does not matter who files divorce first. However, if you take a deeper look, you’ll find that there are some advantages to being the one who starts the process. First, you can set out what you would like in the divorce petition, and your spouse would file a response including what they want (if…
Yes, you can modify a California child custody agreement if circumstances dictate it. Even if both parents agree to the adjustment, a judge still needs to sign off on it to make it official. As the years pass, original custody agreements don’t always fit anymore, and a modification might be necessary. When Can You Modify a Child Custody Agreement in…
While Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, and Virginia have no divorce waiting period at all, all other states do require that couples wait a certain amount of time before their divorces can be finalized, and this is certainly the case for divorces in California. Why Do States Have Divorce Waiting Periods? With…
There are many different scenarios in which two parents will need to determine how to divide child custody. While custody is often associated with divorce cases, it also arises in other situations. Divorce or Legal Separation When two parents are married and they decide to end the marriage, they will need to sort out custody issues before the court will…
Once the holidays are over, and things go back to normal, many people decide it is time to file for divorce. Whether you held out during the holidays knowing you wanted a divorce or the stress of the holidays added conflict to your marriage, you should not hesitate to take the first steps toward this legal process. First of all,…
When two parents share legal custody of their child, they share the responsibility of making important decisions for the child. Such decisions might involve education, religion, healthcare, and other major life issues. One issue that has become the focus of numerous custody battles in the past year is whether or not a child over the age of five should get…
Getting divorced is always complicated – at least emotionally. Ending a marriage can be stressful, even if you know it is the right thing to do. In some cases, people obtain a divorce with relative ease, as they file an uncontested divorce and have it granted after the required waiting period. On the other hand, some couples have many factors…
Going through a divorce in any state can be stressful and confusing, and beginning the process in the right court will ensure that you don’t have to double up your efforts. To be divorced in the state of California, there are residency requirements you must meet to file and have the court process your divorce. If you do not meet…