It’s the first of the year crunch, and with the kids back in school and parents back to business as usual after the holidays, it’s time to look forward to the next chance at a respite: spring break. For one mother, however, it isn’t looking like blue skies just yet. When she and her ex-husband divorced in Texas many years ago, they agreed upon alternating who gets child custody of the kids during school breaks. For example, Winter Break with Mom and President’s Week at Dad’s. But now they are both living in California, and their children get two weeks for Spring Break instead. So, the ex’s have agreed on splitting it. The mother in the story is planning a family reunion in Hawaii so her children can spend quality time with their sick grandfather. But, the only possible time for her whole family to make the trip is during the second week of her children’s spring break, which was supposed to be the father’s week.
When she and her ex-husband divorced in Texas many years ago, they agreed upon alternating who gets child custody of the kids during school breaks. For example, Winter Break with Mom and President’s Week at Dad’s. But now they are both living in California, and their children get two weeks for Spring Break instead. So, the ex’s have agreed amongst them on splitting it by week. The mother in the story is planning a family reunion in Hawaii so her children can spend quality time with their sick grandfather. But, the only possible time for her whole family to make the trip is during the second week of her children’s spring break, which was supposed to be the father’s week. The woman tells us that her ex-husband has a history of being needlessly inflexible for spite. She asks: what can she do to ensure that her kids will be able to come on this once in a lifetime family vacation?
Child Custody Rights and Visitation
Our first tip is to not jump the gun. Start by sending him a very polite letter asking him to switch weeks, send it via US Mail, and keep a copy. The purpose of this letter is to make her look good if she were to wind up in court. If this doesn’t do the trick, she has two options. Miss out on the vacation and go through the long legal process to change the child custody agreement. Or, ignore the spoken agreement herself, take her children to Hawaii and send the father a postcard. I can’t advise you to violate a court order, but this spring break schedule isn’t a court order. Will her ex-husband be mad? Sure. But she’ll be too far away and far too tan to be bothered!
For more on child custody and visitation, visit our website: http://stanprowse.com/child-custody-and-child-visitation
Mum is the word- sometimes, unfortunately. That was the case for one woman, who ran into multiple questions regarding the condo she and her hopefully soon to be ex-husband share. The catch, however, is that the loan for the condo is carried under his mother’s name.
Reconciliation. Making amends. Getting back together. For some divorced couples, it isn’t just a laughable notion or a vastly unlikely fantasy. For some, it can actually happen. This seemed to be the future for one potential client, a woman who reports she and her ex-husband have agreed that their parting of ways was a mistake and that they’re currently trying to get back together. However, an outside force is blocking the couple and their son from coming together under the same roof. What is this outside force? The landlord of the ex-husband’s apartment.
Like most law firms, we want nothing more than to provide clients and potential clients with sound and helpful advice and information. However, when given only pieces of the puzzle regarding someone’s current situation, it is very difficult to provide an answer or reach a conclusion that is 100% accurate. Still, when armed with decades of experience, a bit of prior knowledge, and even some bits of the puzzle, we can at least get those seeking help started in the right direction. Here’s an example.
As much as some of us wish it would, the law has no sympathetic ear. It is black and white, numbers and figures. There is no special stipulations for unfortunate individuals who simply just were played a bad hand of cards. In a nutshell, the Court doesn’t care if someone “hurt your feelings”.
A woman approached us with questions regarding issues with spousal support in her marriage that involved domestic violence. She reports that throughout the couples’ four year marriage she was unemployed. There were several instances of domestic violence and several police reports made, but no arrest of the husband ever occurred. Still, she was granted a DVTRO, or a domestic violence temporary restraining order, by their family court judge. However, she has been unable to locate her ex-husband to have him served with the restraining order. He is now suing her for spousal support. Her question: since she was a victim of domestic violence by him, can he still be granted spousal support and attorney fees? She continues to struggle to find a job and has been living on no income.
In divorce, one of the most common questions we hear is how? How do I file? How do I get child custody? How do I come out of the other side of this mess? With so many hows, sometimes our most important job is to find the best of many possible hows for each individual client, because decades in this line of work has shown us that no client is identical to another. In one such case, a woman wanted to know how to file for a change of venue in her divorce. Her estranged husband, whom she’s been separated from for over four years, filled for divorce in Ventura County. However, she and the couple’s seven year old daughter have continued to reside in Los Angeles County, where the child was born. This woman explains that Ventura is just too far for her to travel. She goes on to note that her daughter’s school, doctor, activities, friends and family, and anyone else that she may need to testify on her behalf are all in Los Angeles. Her question: what forms must she fill out to ensure that her divorce case be moved to Los Angeles.
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