Family Legal Questions

Thank you for your question. I truly understand your concern. As to your inquiry about the medical bills, the short answer is that you will likely still be responsible for your share as detailed in your MSA. The answer is not quite so clear in the case of the college contribution, as there is case law in New Jersey that sets forth several factors for the Court to consider when faced with a decision as to whether to require one parent to contribute to college. One of those factors is whether the parent being asked to contribute has been included in the decision making process with regard to college selection, and it seems that you have not been. Every situation is different, and a more thorough discussion of your particular circumstances would enable us to provide a more specific answer to your questions. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you schedule a consultation with an experienced family law attorney who can discuss your situation more with you and provide you additional guidance.... Read More

You will need to seek legal advise in Arizona, since that is the Court with jurisdiction and Florida does not have legal separation.  If you did not dissolve the marriage and only obtained a legal separation in Arizona, you are still married.  You only need to dissolve the legal separation and an Arizona attorney would be able to advise you on that process. ... Read More

If you do not pay, the lawyer has the right to enforce the attorney's fee order and could take a judgment against you if you fail to pay.  A judgment may be picked up by the credit reporting agencies and result in it being listed as a negative on your credit history. Judgments also may also be filed in the records of any county where you own property and results in a judgment lien against your property.  I suggest that you speak with the attorney and try to work out a payment plan to pay in installments.  The attorney will probably not want to give you a long period of time to pay the installments, but they may be willing to work with you. ... Read More

This question cannot be reliably answered without refernce to the actual words of the underlying custody order.  Normally, there is some kind of language (usually in the legal custody provisions) about travel and relocation.  If your decree is too vague, or you think its provisions are being abused, your fix is to re-mediate, or if necessary file a motion, to alter the langauge to more precisely mirror what you think are reasonable limits, and accommodations.  If youi are not sure, you should consult with a family law specialist, bringing copies of all relevant court orders, and a list of your concerns and intended results.... Read More

I simply can't tell what the facts actually are, or what you are actually asking.  I suggest that you consult with a family law expert, rather than trying to get answers through email.  You should construct a timeline, putting all the events you reference into date order, and bring copies of any resulting court orders.  A guide for how to create a timeline is posted on our consultations page, here.  If you really cannot afford counsel, the local Pro Bono provider is the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, which can be called at 702-386-1070 (or see their information on the web at http://www.lacsn.org/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,3/extmode,view/extid,15/).  Those that take pro bono cases take them after they have been screened, and assigned, by Legal Aid.  The Reduced Fee Panel sponsored by the State Bar can be reached at 702-382-2200.  Additionally, there are free consultations offered on Thursdays at the self-help center; volunteer attorneys provide 15-minute consultations, for free, on family law questions.  For those that wish to attempt self-representation, forms are available at the Clark County self-help center website, at http://www.familylawselfhelpcenter.org/.... Read More

In Texas, the property you own before marriage will still be your separate property after you get married. However, if you make improvements to your separate property, your spouse could makes claims for reimbursement upon divorce. Do you want to make an agreement that all property acquired during the marraige will remain the separate property of each party?... Read More

Were you at the hearing when the child support order or modification was entered? It appears that you accrued arrears at that time. Most likely, the AG has an income withholding order to take out an additional amount each month for the arrears. You should contact the AG to verify whether that is true.... Read More

Thank you for your question. I am sorry it involves such unfortunate circumstances.  You do need to make formal application, by way of the filing of a Complaint (the word “Complaint” is simply a legal term; you are not of course accusing anybody of any wrong doing) in the county court wherein you reside.  You do need to attempt to serve the biological father of the intent to change the name.  If he is served with the Complaint and does not choose to oppose the application (likely, considering his non-involvement) the matter will be treated as an “uncontested matter” and the name change is merely procedural in nature.  If he does oppose it, there is still a very good chance of prevailing , again based upon his non-involvement and because he has chosen not to maintain a relationship with his child.  I suggest you schedule a complimentary consultation so as to more fully address this issue.... Read More

If the biological father wants to do a voluntery relinquishment of his rights, you could file for adoption and termination. Even if he doesn't sign voluntarily, you could ask the court to terminate his rights because he has not provided support for the child. Depending on the grounds for termination, it might take longer than if he would voluntarily give up his rights so your fiance can adopt.... Read More

You are able to request the court to award you custody or a possession schedule of your grandchild.  If there are court orders regarding the child already, then you would need to start in that same court by filing your suit to modify those orders.  You should not delay in bringing the suit because if you want to have an advantage over a parent in a custody suit in a situation where that parent had voluntarily given up actual care, control and possession of the child to you, you should bring suit so that a portion of the time you were caring for your grandchild is within the 90-day period prior to filing the suit for custody.  That does not mean that you may not bring a suit if it has been more than 90 days, it just means that you do not have that particular advantage over the parent.  You may also bring suit to modify a current order regarding your grandchild or bring suit to establish custody of your grandchild if the child's physical health or emotional development is impaired in his or her current circumstances. If you are wanting a possession schedule so that you are able to see the child, then you must prove that the child not having contact with you will have a significant negative impact on the child.  ... Read More

Thank you for your question.  You should be able to reach some written agreement with the mother to have the child with you for at least part of the summer.  If she flatly refuses to let you have time with the child, you will need to initiate a paternity case in Florida where the child lives, and ask the court for a Parenting Plan which is signed by both of you and sets timesharing going forward. (In the paternity case the judge will formally determine that you are the father, will set child support, will give you equal parental rights to make decisions for the child, and will set your timesharing schedule.)  Alternatively, you may wish to use the services of either a certified family mediator or qualified Parenting Coordinator who are both trained to help you create a go-forward Parenting Plan. You can do this even before a paternity suit is filed or, if not, have the court handling your case appoint either a mediator or Parenting Coordinator (preferably). Your issues should resolve there.  If not, the court will enter an order setting the timesharing for you and the child. Good luck! - David B. Mitchell, Esq. www.davidbmitchell.com... Read More

Your question cannot be answered in this forum.  Lawyers.com offers general information and not legal advice.  Legal advice is based upon the specific facts in your case, as applied to the applicable law governing the issues at hand. I strongly suggest that the mother of the child contact a lawyer, ASAP, to discuss this matter in greater details.  Lawyers charge by the hours; therefore, she needs to verify the cost of the consultation before setting up an appointment.   Best of luck~... Read More

If the gun was not secured (gun lock, stored in an appropriate locattion, etc.) or otherwise was not kept or maintained as required under your state laws (other than being possessed illegally), then you probably have a good argument for child endangerment. If the gun was secured, then you would have to argue that the fact that your ex was found to have illegally possessed a firearm constituted a material change in circumstances, such that the best interest of the child now warrants a modification of custody in your favor. This would probably be an uphill battle, unless there is a specific statute in your state enumerating these particular circumstances as a ground for a child endangerment finding.  You would have to paint a picture where the simple act of possessing a firearm illegally posed a threat to the health, safety or wellbeing of the child.  The obvious argument would be, "well if he brazenly disobeyed the law, then what would stop him from hurting the child."  The problem is that a judge could simply respond, "he was a felon at the time of the initial order, so the fact he has illegally possessed a firearm is not exactly a change in circumstances, at least since the act of possessing a firearm alone, without more, does not suggest a threat to the child."  In order to get around this, you want to have hard evidence that the father not only possessed a gun when he should not have, but was also suicidal, bipolar and compulsive, a habitual hard drug user such that he could fire the gun while high and not even notice because of how high he gets, etc.  This would all require some psychiatric or medical testimony from a treating physician or expert witness.  In other words, you cannot just go into court and say these things, you need a credible witness with firsthand knowledge.  And, you must emphasize that any such circumstances are a "change" in circumstances because they were unknown or not present at the time of the initial custody order. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide representation because I am a Maryland child custody lawyer.  You should absolutely contact a family lawyer licensed in your state before proceeding further.... Read More

Some of the details are a bit unclear; it is not at all clear what you mean by reference to "third party payments."  While it is possible to freeze the spousal share, the default provision of our usual retirement orders (through our QDROMasters order drafting division; see https://qdromasters.com/) is to have the spousal share increase or decrease in accordance with dividends, gains and losses until date of segregation of accounts. As to your question, there is no specific time unless the court set one, although 2 1/2 years seems outrageous on any standard.  If the attorneys involved do not understand pension division and QDRO drafting, your best bet is to get a second opinion from experts in pension division orders, at QDROMasters or another highly qualified source if you have one.... Read More

It sounds like there are two potential grounds to argue that he should have less visitation due to a material change in circumstances.  First, he moved to another state.  Now, at least in Maryland, whether a move to another state constitutes a material change in circumstances depends largely on the extent and frequency of the moving parent's custody rights.  For instance, if he was only granted reasonable visitation from time to time as agreed, then the move would probably not constitute a material change since it does not prevent the visitation schedule from being carried out.  On the other hand, if he was granted extensive visitation (i.e., shared physical custody or every other weekend plus two or three weekdays each week), then the move would almost definitely constitute a material change in circumstances, since it was from South Carolina to New York. More concerning is the fact that he no longer seems to have an interest in his visitation.  Since his absence has been continuous for more than six months, you could probably successfully argue that a material change in circumstances (he no longer has an interest in the child's life) has occurred.  Whether this is worth pursuing again depends on how much visitation he has to lose.  If he has extensive visitation rights, you should move for a modification; if he has the bear minimum visitation already, then it would make no sense to file for a modification. In sum, if he has extensive visitation rights, then you have good reasons to consult with a Child Custody Lawyer.  I am only licensed to practice in Maryland, so you would need to contact a lawyer licensed in your state.... Read More

If you have proof that you have made several efforts to get in touch with him, then you should have nothing to worry about.  This will prevent him from being able to lie to the court and say that you denied him visitation.  If he is alive but continues to stay out of the picture for another six months or so, then you may have grounds to modify custody. Whether this would be worth the effort depends on the frequency of his visitation rights under the current child custody order.  For instance, if his visitation is not on a set schedule, but rather simply from time to time as you both may agree, then it would make no sense to go back to court because he already has the minimum.  If, on the other hand, he is entitle to every other weekend plus a day or two during the week, then you would be within your rights to claim that his absence is a material change in circumstances justifying even less visitation.  Along these lines, if he is out of the picture due to a drug addiction, or something else that could potentially pose a threat to your child if the father were to exercise visitation rights, then you may want to seek to modify the visitation so that it is supervised. In sum, if he does not already have the minimum (reasonable visitation from time to time as agreed), or if he has done something that would raise a red flag as to your child's health, safety and well-being, then you may want to discuss the matter further with a Maryland Child Custody Lawyer.... Read More

You can definitely file an appeal.  But, it will be an uphill battle.  The decision whether to extend an order under the circumstances is discretionary, meaning that the order would be reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard.  This standard of review is very deferential to the lower court judge.  The only way to get around this standard is if the judge committed a legal error (i.e., if the governing statute requires the judge to state his reasons for his decision on the record, yet he failed to outline the facts forming the basis of his decision).  I do not practice in Illinois, so I do not know whether the governing statute has this requirement, but it is a thought for your appellate lawyer to consider. I just noticed that your post is from November 19, 2018.  Most states have a 30-day deadline in which a party must file a notice of appeal.  That is just a few days from now.  If you have not yet missed the deadline, here is some advice on How to File an Appeal.  I hope this helps.... Read More

If this happening around the children then you may file an emergency motion with the court to protect the children.  Depending on the facts you may have an obligation to report the incident to the DCYF and/or the police.  A lawyer with family law experience would be in the position to help you.  Best wishes.... Read More