Getting a custody modification is not a given in California. When the courts have issued custody orders already, they are not quick to change them. A family attorney in San Diego, CA with experience in our local court system and a good understanding of California law can help you present a strong case to show why the modification you want to ask for should be granted.
What Role Does a Family Attorney in San Diego, CA Play in Custody Modifications?
Helping You Understand Your Position
There’s a lot of hoops you’ll have to jump through to get your modification. The first will be opening a family law case if you don’t already have one going. One thing we have going for us here in California is that, unlike in some states, you are allowed to modify an agreement at any time. However, just because you can bring a request at any time doesn’t mean that it’s going to be accepted.
Your lawyer will help you understand whether your grounds are sufficient for requesting a change. Some of the more common reasons that people request custody changes include issues with the other parent following the terms of the agreement, changes to the child’s life, or major changes in your life. But the changes have to be fairly substantial. Just because you’ve changed your work schedule, for instance, would not necessarily warrant a change.
Of course, if there’s something particularly serious, such as if you have reason to suspect that your child is being abused when they’re in the care of the other parent, you should talk to us as quickly as possible so we can get the ball rolling and protect your child. In some cases, it can be possible to get a temporary restraining order, and of course, if your child is in immediate danger, you should call the police.
Keeping Your Eye on the Ball
The focus of the court will be the best interest of your child. Your lawyer’s job is to help you stay focused on this priority, as well. It’s easy for parents to get caught up in the emotions they have related to each other, and it can be tempting to use their child as a weapon against the other parent, even inadvertently.
One of the reasons the courts don’t change orders on a whim is because the initial orders can be assumed to have been laid down because they are in the child’s best interest already. It thus takes clear evidence to show that the change is required. Your lawyer will be able to tell you what the courts are looking for and how to present your request in the best way to show that it really is in the child’s best interest.
Minimizing Risks
Whenever you ask the courts to intervene, you are taking a risk that the court may end up sending you out of that courtroom with an arrangement that’s even less good for you than the one you went in with. If the court believes that your request is spurious, it may not agree to even hear it, or, if it does, it may require you to pay court fees and the other parent’s attorney fees. It’s very important that you have a lawyer review everything you want to request in advance to ensure that it’s as likely as possible that the court will agree to your request.
One of the biggest risks is if your custody schedule has already been personalized to the unique situation of your family. This means that the court allowed you and the other parent to come to an agreement rather than impose the standard custody and visitation orders that usually apply under California law. If you request a change after having already set up a highly personalized schedule, there’s a chance that the court will declare your original schedule invalid and simply apply the state standard terms to your situation. A lawyer is your best protection from something like this.
Collecting and Presenting Evidence
It’s easy to underestimate how much evidence you’re going to need in these cases. What seems crystal clear to you will not be crystal clear to the court unless you spell it out for them, and that means you need to be able to prove every link in the chain of your case specifically. You’re building a chain of arguments that should lead to the inevitable conclusion that your request for modifying child custody will be best for your child. You’ll need to prove each item along the way, and your lawyer will know what evidence is needed to do this and will help you to gather it.
Your lawyer will probably ask you to save everything that has to do with the situation, whether it’s emails and texts from the child’s other parent or diary entries from your child showing that they’re going through something you think is relevant. You might need testimony from your child’s medical team, from your child’s school, or from therapists or counselors who may be treating your child. If you go to court with just your argument versus the other parent’s argument, you probably won’t get your modification. You have to be able to show all the details, so pay attention to what your lawyer asks and trust your lawyer to put all the evidence together well to show the points you’re trying to make.
Steps in the Process
The first step will be to fill out all the important forms and make copies of these, and this is a time when you’ll really appreciate having a lawyer’s help. You’ll need a copy for your own records, another to give to the court, and another to file with the county clerk. All these copies have to be taken to the court clerk to be filed, and you’ll have to pay a fee ranging from $60-$85, depending on the situation.
At that point, you’ll get a court date, which you will have to attend unless you and the other parent already agreed to the modification you’re requesting. The good news is your lawyer can take care of all of this and can also take care of the next step, which is making sure that the other parent is served with papers detailing your modification request and informing them of the court date. You’ll need to prove to the court that you properly notified the other parent, and then, assuming you and the other parent can’t come to an agreement, you’ll need to attend the court hearing. Your lawyer will represent you at every step along the way and make sure that you file all the paperwork correctly the first time. The court may also tell you and the other parent to try mediation to resolve the issue, and your lawyer can help you prepare for this, as well.
For help with your child custody case here in San Diego, talk to us today at the Law Office of Kevin Lemieux. With over 21 years of experience here in California, Kevin Lemieux has helped hundreds of families to resolve their issues and successfully defended many clients in the courtroom.
