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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: Tre on June 29, 2008, 01:05:35 PM
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Question:
Can a standing custody agreement be modified without a formal hearing?
Background: The original custody arrangement was determined between the two parties and the lawyer and the child support stipulated to exceeded the state mandate.
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Forget lawyers, Tre, just pull an OJ and be done with it.
(But please don't seek Craig Titus' advice on body disposal ;))
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LOL @ the well-placed Titus reference
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Question:
Can a standing custody agreement be modified without a formal hearing?
Background: The original custody arrangement was determined between the two parties and the lawyer and the child support stipulated to exceeded the state mandate.
Is there a formal / legal arrangement now or just both sides agree to an amount? It isnt a legal order until a Judge/Commissioner signs off on it and therefore probably not enforceable right now. However, a judge will look at the past informal aggrement and COULD tell you should ahve been paying more or less and make it retroactive.
also, there is no "state mandate" when it comes to child support. It depends on level of income, living expenses, etc. There is a formula that they use as a guide, but its only a guide
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Once the agreement was signed by the parents, it was signed off on by the courts as part of the dissolution proceedings. So, the support stipulated now can be enforced if payments ever fall below that mark. In California, though, no judge is going to give credit for past overpayments, so long as the non-custodial parent still has the ability to pay.
Parents can agree to an amount less than the guideline amount, but the custodial parent can always go back and make a claim for the guideline amount - which is determined by a formula set up by the state - for any reason.
But on custody, it's possible that the current custodial parent might not agree to 50-50 even if full support (based on 100%) was granted by the other parent.
Tricky situation...
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Question:
Can a standing custody agreement be modified without a formal hearing? Background: The original custody arrangement was determined between the two parties and the lawyer and the child support stipulated to exceeded the state mandate.
No, you have to have an OSC (Order to Show Cause) before modifying a court order.
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If I remember correctly, the only way the standard/ formal adverserial hearing ( Petitioner/ Plaintiff- Respondent/ Defendant) can be overcome for any modification to the original custody agreement, is in the event of an emergency where the moving party can demonstrate to the presiding judge/ surrogate assigned, the childs life or welfare is in actual danger. However, this would obviously only occur in extreme cases, and then only with some showing of actual or imminent actual harm to the child. It seems this isn't the case in your situation.
One thing is certain though, a modification to alimony/ child support is almost never even explored by the court unless circumstances have changed substantially- ie the parent paying support lost his job, the custodial parent recieving the child support remmaries, etc. In California, this is especially true. The state guidelines pretty much act as a floor for child support, but sleazy divorce lawyers and overly sympathetic judges can turn the guidlines into rubble relatively easily.
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Thanks, guys, and that does make sense.
In this particular situation, the parties had a reasonably amicable dissolution that they managed on their own. And even though the father voluntarily gave the mother full custody, they cannot 'voluntarily' change the arrangement - at least not officially - once it's been filed with the courts.
The father intends to pursue a 50-50 custody arrangement that the mother will likely accept (if the money is in her favor), so I was trying to help them figure out how much could be achieved through unofficial channels.
Appreciate the help...I'll let you know how it turns out if they move forward.