Family Legal Questions

Your spouse can file for divorce to begin the divorce process but for the divorce to proceed you have to be served. To be served, you can be personally served (by a sheriff or process server), you can acknowledge service (meaning you sign a document saying you received a copy of the divorce documents) or you can be served by publication (meaning he publishes a notice in the newspaper letting you know that he has filed for divorce). He should only do the service by publication if he does not know where you are, has no contact with you, has no way to get in touch with you, does not know any of your contact information, etc. (which likely does not apply here). Because you are the respondant (meaning he is filing and seeking the divorce so he is the petitioner), he should file the divorce in the county in which you live. You can check online to see if anything has been filed against you. Most counties in Georgia have electronic filing.... Read More

You should consider consulting with a family law specialist.  The child is probably (but not necessarily) a bit young for "teen age discretion."  If you cannot agree directly, consider mediation, either privately or through the Court's Family Mediation Center.  A good amount of back ground information is posted on our Child Custody page, posted here. ... Read More

You are mixing apples with peaches. The lawyer is simply letting the court know that the filing fee for whatever document is being filed can be taken from the lawyers account with the court. Its similar to a prepaid postage account. The filing fee item though has nothing to do with the court's award of a legal fee on a motion or after a trial ( except the judge can consider the filing fees as part of a counsel fee award).... Read More

This is not really a legal question. My suggestion is that you sit down calmly with him and agree that the relationship is over and that you simply need a month to find a new place to live or to arrange to move elsewhere. You have no legal right to remain in your boyfriend's home and presumably, as a result of what was said during that fight, he no longer wishes to live with you. If he does not want you to live with him any longer, then my suggestion is that you ask him for some money to permit you and your son to rent an efficiency apartment for the next several weeks to find a new place to move to.  If he locks you out of the home, then ask the local police to intervene and speak with him about permitting you and your son to remain in the home for the next few weeks to find a new place to live. ... Read More

You can legally change your name and you can handle it on your own. Contact the family part of the county courthouse in the county you live in to obtain a pro se package for name change purposes, starting with the filing of a name change complaint.  There are several steps to the process, but as long as you follow the steps and provide the court with proof of your compliance ( in a timely manner), the court will sign the order permitting you to change your name. You can also go on line to see the steps involved, so that you know what will be expected of you as part of the process. ... Read More

Your timing is excellent.  Just a couple weeks ago, I won a case in the Nevada Supreme Court (Senjab), holding that only 6 weeks' residence, not "domicile," is required to file for divorce in Nevada.  And while I woiuld want to know more about the facts before giving a certain answer, if Nevada is not the Home State of the children under the UCCJEA, then the divorce here would not address their custody.  See the article "The Basics of Family Law Jurisdiction" posted here.  Obviously, there are more questions to ask; I suggest that you call the office during regular business hours and go over the basic facts with one of our attorneys.... Read More

Thank you for your question. In the event a resident of the home is an owner of the property they have the right to be there absent some agreement or Court Order preventing the person from being able to reside there. In the event of a divorce, if the property is a marital asset, then there needs to be a resolution on how the spouses’ respective ownership interest in the home should be distributed. Based on your circumstances, it would be best to contact an experienced family law attorney to address your specific concerns. ... Read More

In your SAPCR order you are probably required to give the other side notice of your intended move.  Once you provide this notice you may find that the other side files something with the Court seeking to modify the order to request that a geographic restriction be put in place. Obviously visitation under an SPO schedule may very likely be unworkable when the parents live that far apart.  You can seek to have visitation order amended and/or seek long distance travel provisions be inserted into the order.  If you file a Motion to Modify I would be prepared to expect that the other side may want to revisit child support issues, as the cost to exercise possession of child will be significantly higher than if everyone was still residing in Texas.  Usually in the standard language in many SAPCR orders the visitating parent is ordered to return the child to the custodial parent at the end of the visitation period.  However, if both parties live in the same county when the order is put in place and then the custodial parent moves out of county and the noncustodial parent does not move out of county, then effective on the date of the move you would be responsible for picking up the child from the noncustodial parent at the end of the visitation period. To maximize your chances of being able to relocate you should likely plan to work with an experienced family law attorney in your area.... Read More

If you were served with a Petition to Adjudicate Parentage and did not file a response with the Court then the Court could allow the other side to proceed against you on a default basis.  That would allow them to present evidence to the court and request whatever relief that they are requesting regarding conservatorship, visitation and access, and support.  Under those circumstances a judge could order child support without you agreeing to pay or having previously signed an acknowledgement of paternity.... Read More

If your order say $0.00 is to be paid each month, then that is what you owe.  However, I would want to double check that the actual court order signed by the Judge actually says zero.  Sometimes people refer to drafts of orders that may have been changed before they were submitted to the Court. Visitation with a 16 year old can be very difficult, especially when the child expresses a desire not to go. You can spend a lot of money trying to enforce the order, but a lot of judges take the position that if the child is refusing then the custodial parent is not actually denying the visitation.    ... Read More

If your girlfriend is married then her husband is the presumed legal father of any child born to her during their marriage.  You can sign an acknowledgment of paternity but her husband would need to sign the denial of paternity portion of the document for it to be valid.  However, if your girlfriend files for divorce then in the divorce the Court can make a finding that the child was not a child of the marriage and confirm your paternity of the child.... Read More

I would highly recommend that you consult with an attorney to determine what options that you may have.  In order to proceed you need to make sure that the Court understands that you have the right to request the Court to award you custody or, as we call it in Texas, conservatorship of your sibling.  This means you have to have "standing".  Standing and jurisdiction are complicated ideas to understand, sometimes even for lawyers, but if you do not understand them you may have trouble proceeding and getting the chance to ask the Court to consider what you are requesting.  While in the state of Texas anyone can represent themselves, it is seldom a good idea to do so.... Read More

As long as you’ve resided in PA for 6 months, you can file for divorce here.  Once a divorce complaint is filed, you will need to serve her with a copy.  Accordingly, you must have her address to be able to proceed. Regarding custody, it does not seem as if she is interested in it, so there is no practical need to obtain a custody order.  Having said that, if she will agree, you can also file a complaint for custody, or include it with the divorce, and an agreement can be filed to obtain a court order. I trust this answers your questions, and if you live in Southeastern PA, feel free to call or email me on a free initial basis.    Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read More

Technically, your daughter is still minor. If she were picked up by the police, she would be returned to you. But what will that solve. That said, if you are having issues with her, I recommend counseling for both of you. The issue is often communication.  I have found that sending people a letter makes them feel valued and there is no heat of the moment. The world can be a dangerous place for a youngster who does not see the dangers of rampant addiction and human trafficking. Let her know how much you care and what she means to you. She is not a baby anymore but she still has a lot to learn, some things she is going to have to figure out for herself others, you can provide important guidance. She needs to feel respected.  Remind her that finishing high school will mean $250,000 or more to her lifetime earnings- because people who don't finish school ear much less than people who do over their lifetime.  If you can get her to agree to a "life contract," what you will do and what she will do, it might help put things on a better footing. best of luck to you.... Read More

With a marriage this long, there are likely many issues that will need to be addressed including real property, personal property, other assets, debt, and the issue of spousal support being paid. A telephone consultation with an experienced family law attorney can provide a great deal of useful information for you to consider as you move forward.... Read More

The question is whether you have standing to pursue a third-party custody action. As a general rule, the law recognizes the right of parents to raise children, without undue interference from the state or other parties.  However, there are exceptions and you must prove by clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interest of the children for a court to intervene.  These cases are very difficult to win because of the Constitutional issues involving a parent's right to autonomy when raising children.  There are two ways to handle this situation.  First, it would probably work best for you to reach an agreement with the parents granting you temporary custody.  If they are unwilling to reach an agreement, then, you have to go to the local Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and file a Petition, seeking custody.  If both parents oppose your request, then, you have to prove actual harm to the children by leaving them with their parents.  If only one parent disagrees, then, you have to prove by clear and convincing evidence ("CCE") that it is in the best interest of the children to be placed in your custody. Unfortunately, the CCE standard is rather high and will require definitive proof of any allegation.  You can't rely on hearsay evidence but you must be able to convince the court, based upon your personal knowledge that the parents pose a danger to the children or are unfit to serve as caregivers. I suggest that you set up a consultation with an experienced family lawyer in your area.  Lawyers charge by the hour for consults, so you need to discuss the cost of a consultation in advance to avoid any issues.   Best of luck~... Read More