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365 Broadway, Suite 203. El Cajon, California Telephone (619) 447-6780 - E-mail: Familylaw1@aol.com |
To learn more about the following subjects, click on the below subject matter title:
1. Divorce - Contested vs. Un-Contested. 2. Child Custody. 3. Child Support.
4. Spousal Support. 5. Restraining Orders. 6. Challenging Restraining Orders (TRO). 7. Attorney Fees (who will pay) 8. Contempt Actions - Enforcing a court order. 9. Paternity Action. 10. Child Support Enforcement . (DCSS and the District Attorney office) 11. Loss of Driver's License. 12. Custody Evaluation . 12. Wage Assignment orders 13. General common legal terms. 14. Legal terms used in a divorce proceeding.
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Child Custody and Visitation IF THE PARTIES CANNOT REACH AN AGREEMENT on visitation and child custody matters, the court, not you, will determine each parent's rights and obligations toward their children. The court will make decisions about your children if:
Custody refers to the responsibility of caring for the children and planning for their future. If you have children with another person, the end of that relationship usually does not mean the end of your contact with that person. Together you should try to agree on a plan that is best for your children. There are many different types of custody:
If you and the other parent cannot agree on a plan, the court will decide. The official legal standard is always the child's "best interest". The problem in many divorces or actions involving children is that there is not always a clear line that one parent is better than the other. The policy favored by the courts is that arrangement which allows for frequent and continuing contact with both parents. Before the court makes these decisions, parents must go through a process with Family Court Services called "mediation". But if there is a need for immediate orders, the court could issue them prior to mediation. |
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Mediation Family Court Services is part of the court system and provides mediation,
counseling, and evaluation of families with custody and visitation disputes.
A person may be ordered to mediation or evaluation. If an Order to Show Cause action is
filed seeking some form of relief from the court for custody or visitation, the
court will order the parties to attend mediation through Family Court Services.
The mediator, for all practical purposes, wears two hats. The first is to try to work our an agreement between the parents. If that fails, he or she will then put on a different hat, one of an evaluator, who will then make a recommendation to the court. It is important to know what you say could affect your children's relationship with you. This is when legal counsel is important. The Law Office of David A. Casey can guide you in a positive way to get the best results.
Family Court Services Mediation is provided in a private office with a court counselor. Please keep in mind, these are NOT counseling sessions! It is an information gathering process through an interview with the intention of trying to get the parties to come to an agreement regarding custody and visitation issues . The focus is on the children's best interest. The mediation conference allows both parents to try to work together toward a mutually acceptable agreement regarding the well-being of the children. It is important to know that you DO NOT HAVE to agree to anything at the mediation or what may be recommended. In fact, if you don't agree to what the FCS counselor is recommending, then it is important that you say you don't agree since it is very difficult to change the agreement that you made if you "flip flop". The court weighs heavily on the recommendation to the court on what is best for your child(ren)). The mediation session will last approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Mandatory Mediation is Required When Custody & Visitation Issues are Before the Court In any dissolution matter regarding child custody and visitation when there is a dispute, it is mandatory that the case be set for mediation prior to the court hearing. If an agreement is reached, it is reported to the court (usually through the attorneys if the parties have attorneys). If the parties reached an agreement, the court hearing may be cancelled since the family made its own decision thus there is no need for the hearing to proceed. However, in most cases there are other issues such as child support, and other financial issues that are NOT addressed in mediation but need to be addressed in the court. If an agreement is not reached, a recommendation will be made by the court counselor and the court hearing will proceed. You will get time to review the report prior to the hearing. You could be granted additional time for a full review based on the Local Rules of the Court. It is important that you understand what the FCS recommendation is before the hearing takes place. I would like to stress to potential clients that you should seek the advice of a competent attorney prior to filing an action for custody and visitation issues. Keep in mind that the FCS counsel is not there to represent you so the advice you get from an attorney could be the difference of having custody or be limited to a visitation schedule with less time with your children.
Voluntary, Self-Initiated Mediation |
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What
both parents need to remember is that the court does not know who either
parent is. Thus a major part of my job is to make sure that proper
declarations are submitted to the court indicating the facts that the
court can rely upon to reach the correct decision when making custody
and visitation orders. The court relies upon these
supportive declarations from friends, family, teachers, counselors,
evaluators and the recommendation of the court mediator. However,
many times, the court will want more concrete input from a
professional, and may order a custody evaluation.
This is when your attorney will use
his/her expertise and experience to get the facts before the court.
What counts in court is EVIDENCE. In family law matters, the
court sees a lot of "he said - she said" making the issues more complex.
The court doesn't base it's decision on the party who pays their attorney the
most money, or where the attorney is located, or how eloquently the
attorney speaks, it comes down to WHAT is presented to the
court. In Family law matters, there is NO jury to convince.
There is only one judge who deciphers the facts of the case.
