Oregon Child Custody Legal Questions

You can file an action for paternity in the court that has jurisdiction in your state, and serve your ex-girlfriend, and the court will order all three of you to undergo a DNA test to determine whether you are the biological father. If you are the biological father then you can ask the court for the rights to visit your child, or ask for custody or joint custody depending on the facts of your case. I would retain a family law Attorney in your state to process your case from start to finish.... Read More

Hey Joseph, the Guardian ad litem, the court orders one to represent the best interest of the child. However, the payment for the Guardian ad litem is divided and split into two by both parties. The court took your son from you and he does not want to live with her. Just because she is a woman, the ball is in her court and fathers are left to find a competent and aggressive attorney that specializes in fathers rights like we do. Please keep in mind that not all lawyers are the same, therefore be very cautious as to which attorney or law firm you chose to work with. We are based in New York but my network of SMS ATTORNEYS does travel out of state for clients. If you would like to retain our services while on a limited budget, do let us know and we will try to do our best to offer payment plans option. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. Ahsan Syed answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with SMS ATTORNEYS without a signed retainer. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Custody Lawyer in OR.... Read More

Father should file a Motion for Order to Show Cause for Modification of Custody, Parenting Time and Child Support based on mother?s apparent intent to bar him from any contact with his child. At the hearing, the Court would most likely receive testimony from the 16-year-old and seriously question the mother?s reasons for wanting to remove the child from any contact with the father. Father should consult with counsel on this issue ASAP.... Read More

The answer to that question depends upon the reason your son's father would want to prohibit your boyfriend from being around your son. If your boyfriend has any history of child abuse or domestic violence, the court would probably agree with the prohibition. You need to consult with an attorney before you agree to sole custody to the child's father; the best approach would be to include some specific provisions in the custody agreement that preserves your ability to have your boyfriend around when the child is with you. If there is no agreement, the matter can be referred to mediation or even a court hearing to get a decision.... Read More

Answer - While it appears that there is no specific custody or parenting time order in place, the Court?s normal policy is that a custodial parent cannot move more than 60 miles further away from the other parent without either a written agreement with the non-custodial parent or a court order approving such a move. If you were to move without giving the child?s father at least 30 days? written notice, he could claim that you were trying to cut off his contact with the child without giving him the chance to contest that decision in the court that would have jurisdiction (the Circuit Court in the county where you have been residing). I would suggest that you consult with a local family law attorney to get a better idea as to what you have to do to get the Court's permission to move with the child.... Read More

Assuming that mother and father were previously married but they went through a dissolution of their marriage which resulted in mother being granted sole custody with father getting a specific parenting time schedule and an order to pay child support, mother's effort to change the child's last name would have no effect on either the parenting time schedule or the child support order. On the other hand, if mother got a court order allowing her new husband to adopt her son, that would cancel the parenting time schedule and father's duty to pay child support. Assuming there was no adoption, father should bring a motion to change his son?s last name back to his own so his son can grow up with his real father's last name. As the child gets older, it could be an major mental issue for him if he believes his father abandoned him by agreeing to his name change.... Read More

The main issues here appears to be whether or not there is a specific judgment or court order establishing custody, parenting time and child support in a court action that was brought by one of the parents after they separated. If they were not married and they just separated with no specific court order, I would expect the mother to have kept the three-year-old child and entered into an informal agreement with the father for his parenting time. If there is no history of domestic violence or other bad behavior by the father, then the mother?s refusal to agree to a reasonable parenting time would be grounds for awarding custody to the father. On another point, if there is a court order for custody, parenting time and child support, and that order provides for a specific parenting time schedule for the father, the mother?s refusal to abide by that schedule would be grounds for changing custody and enacting a new parenting plan. I believe your partner needs to consult with a local lawyer in your area and bring along whatever court documents he has to that meeting.... Read More

The answer depends upon the terms of the judgment. Under the Oregon Basic Parenting Plan, the non-custodial parent only gets a very few overnights with a child that is only two years old (the normal parenting plan applies for children three years and older). However, if the parties agreed to more overnights with the non-custodial parent and they did not get a provision in the judgment that the child can only be taken a few miles away, he might be able to take the child out of state. If he is working and cannot take the child to his workplace, it would probably be OK to allow the father to use a babysitter.... Read More

Yes, you would have parental rights if you can prove that you are the natural father of the child. If you are on the birth certificate, you should win. Once you have some proof that you are the father, you need to hire a lawyer in the state where he lives and get some advice from that lawyer about how to proceed (I cannot advise you as to any state other than Oregon where I am licensed). However, it would probably be in the child?s best interest to contact the child protective services office in the city where the child lives and get them to do a welfare check. If they see that the child is in a hazardous environment, they may take the child into protective custody. At that point you should be able to file a petition for custody that would allow you to return the child to your home.... Read More

You haven't established your right to the child and need to do so in the court in the state in which the child lives. Unless the mother put your name on the birth certificate, you will have to file a parentage action and have a DNA test to prove/disprove if you are the father. After there is clear evidence that you are the father, the court can move toward establishing a parenting plan of some kind. Since you don't know the child at all, it will likely start with supervised visitation until the child gets to know you. If you have concerns re the child's current living arrangements, call CPS in the State in which the child lives.... Read More

If you are willing to care for any or all of your grandchildren because of your daughter?s bipolar disorder, you need to contact an attorney in your community and ask about seeking guardianship of the children. Taking on the care of four children can be a big load, but it would be in their best interest for them to have a caregiver that treats them appropriately.... Read More

If you and your ex are sharing joint custody of your child, she could legitimately claim that she does have a right to know who you are dating or living with to the extent that she is trying to rule out the possibility of any hazard to your child when you are with that new companion. If your new companion has children of her own who are well mannered and polite, any concerns raised by your ex-wife should be addressed and she should not continue to worry. On the other hand, if your new companion has a history of drug use, domestic violence or drunk driving, her concerns might be reasonable. The normal form of custody in Oregon is for the court to determine which parent should have sole custody of the child or children based on their ?best interest? as determined by the court based on evidence received at trial. Once the court determines custody in this manner, the other parent has parenting time as determined by the Court (usually under the Deschutes County Basic Parenting Plan) and gets to pay child support. Under this approach, the non-custodial parent is entitled to their visitation under the parenting plan but the custodial parent cannot interfere with the non-custodial parent's time with the child or children without violating the custodial terms of the judgment. If it turns out that the child or children are being harmed or stressed out by the actions of the non-custodial parent, the custodial parent should bring a motion to modify custody to limit the children?s exposure to any harmful influences. If your ex will not talk to you about these matters or refuses to consider what you have to say, you should consult with an attorney for further advice.... Read More

Child Support normally continues until the child reaches the age of 18 years and is not continuing with school through college or technical school. If she continues in school, she can receive child support up until age 21. If she is over age 18 and married, has a child of her own and is not attending school, child support should stop but you need to check with a lawyer who can review the specific judgment language in your case.... Read More

This set of facts raises an issue under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJEA) which has been adopted by 49 states, including Oregon, since 1997. Basically, the UCCJEA provides that court jurisdiction over custody matters is in the state and county where the child and the parents last lived for at least six months. This sounds like bad news for you, but you are not required to return to Oregon to live while the case is under way. You will need to file an appearance and response to his petition and appear for court hearings in the local court, but you can stay where you are while to case is under consideration until a custody decision is reached. On another point, in Oregon the courts cannot grant joint custody unless both parents stipulate to joint custody in writing. From the facts you have related, it appears that you have been the primary care provider for your son for his entire life and that you had good cause to get away from his father due to father?s behavior. In your response, you need to deny the idea of joint custody and ask the Court to award you sole custody of your son with appropriate parenting time with father (See Deschutes County Basic Parenting Plan on the court's website in the Forms section). You also need to retain a local attorney near the Court where the case has been filed so he or she does not have to bill you for very much travel time.... Read More

If you and your nephew have lived in Oregon for more than six months, your petition for guardianship should be filed in the Circuit Court for the County in which you have resided for that period of time. You can check into the online ?forms? tab at the circuit court?s website and check with the court directly to find out that amount of the filing fee for the guardianship petition. Once the petition has been filed, you will need to have the child?s mother served with copies of the petition and a summons which would command her to file an appearance with the Court within 30 days or the guardianship would be granted. If you do not have the funds to retain an attorney for this process, you might want to consult with an attorney in your area for some guidance on filling in the information required for the petition.... Read More

You really should get a lawyer for this kind of proceeding. If the basis of the parents? restraining order involves anything that could be a threat to the kids, you could end up with supervised visitation for now with the possibility of regular parenting time later on. Also, the Court would be looking at the custody and parenting time issues under the ?best interest of the children? standard; if you have regular employment and a place to live with the boys and no record of violence or drug use you would be in a position to seek full custody of the boys with parenting time to their father (like alternating weekends).... Read More

While the answer may vary from state to state, in Oregon and California you would not have any parental or guardianship status just because you married the boys? mother. After all, their father is probably still around and that would mean that he has parental rights and a duty to pay your soon-to-be wife an amount of child support set by the court that determined custody and parenting time. If, on the other hand, if the boys? father is deceased or just gone from their lives (prison or living in Bangladesh, for instance), you and their mother could petition the court to grant you guardianship to go along with mother?s parental rights. That guardianship would make you the boys? only legal parent if their mother dies or becomes incapable of caring for them.... Read More

If the children?s father has not seen the children for three years and he is $13,000 in arrears, you should be successful with the petition for adoption by your current husband. The one thing you have to do is have him personally served with the guardianship petition. Once he gets that, he should find out that when the guardianship is granted he will have no further child support obligation but he will still be liable for the back child support he now owes.... Read More

The big question here is whether or not the Mexican guy is still around and whether his relationship with your daughter continues. While your daughter could file a petition to establish a parental relationship if he can be located, the main reason for that would be to establish child support and some parenting time for the father if that is appropriate. As to your relationship with your daughter, if she is over age 18 and is the only parent named on the child's birth certificate, she is the only one who has custody and control of the child. The only way you could establish a legal basis for imposing contact and/or grand-parenting time with the child would be if your daughter is not caring for the child in an appropriate manner which might be the basis for a guardianship petition in the county where the child has been living since birth (if the child was over six months old, the jurisdiction would be where the child has lived for the last six months). On a more personal level, try to maintain contact with your daughter and give her whatever support you can. After all, whatever is happening right now happening for the first time in her life and that can certainly be stressful.... Read More

This is a little weird. If you have an agreement with your mother-in-law (presumably your husband's mother) to care for your children in her home so that they can finish their school year, it would be very difficult for her to assert that you have abandoned your children. The best thing to do would be to put together a written agreement which would include a provision that you reimburse your mother-in-law for any specific expenses she would incur while you are gone (Doctor visits, clothing, school expenses, etc.). One additional thing you should do is to inform the school that you are moving to a specific location with contact information and that you still want to be informed about anything relating to your children and that your mother-in-law is an interim caretaker, not a replacement parent.... Read More

In most cases, Oregon courts will not allow a parent to move out-of-state with the children so long as the other parent is actively involved in the children's lives.  Since you have joint custody, you can always move for a modification and seek to have sole custody to keep the children here.  If he moves without getting approval from the court for the move, you can file a motion to force the return of the children.  He will be in violation of the parenting plan.... Read More

You can remarry as soon as the judge signs your divorce decree.  Unless you are marrying someone with a criminal history or some other issue that would impact custody, remarriage should not be a negative factor in a future custody decision.  No, your ex has no say in when you can remarry.... Read More

Answer: It?s hard to tell exactly what you need to do given that I do not know whether the restraining order is against you or the other parent. In any case, the court would have the authority to allow parenting time through an independent agency that handles supervised parenting time. The process would involve bringing a motion to allow parenting time under certain conditions. Normally the custodial parent would drop off the children at Mary?s Place and the non-custodial parent would be allowed to come and visit with them for a specific, court-ordered period after which the custodial parent would pick them up again.... Read More