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In the much-publicized divorce of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, the tabloids found dozens of opportunities to photograph each parent out and about with their daughter Suri. It’s possible they were simply going about their daily lives while being hounded by the paparazzi, but it is just as likely the soon-to-be-divorced parents were trying to build their respective cases for custody.
When a marriage falls apart, the children of the relationship are caught in the middle. Parents often overlook the negative effect of their verbal sparring on the children. Courts, on the other hand, are not prone to overlook a parent’s bad behavior while the children are present.
Just as parents take measures to protect their children from negative outside influences, parents in the midst of a divorce have a duty to protect their children as much as possible. The children’s lives are going to change, but that doesn’t mean the children should be privy to all dirty laundry.
The details of a divorce should only be shared with children to the extent warranted by each child’s mental and emotional maturity level, and never in a manner reasonably expected to cause the child to harbor ill will for the other parent.
In our experience, children are flexible, adaptable, and perceptive. They may appear to be largely unaffected by your divorce, when in fact they have many questions they are simply afraid to ask. Counseling is often recommended after a divorce to help children process the break up of their parents and learn to deal with their conflicting emotions in a healthy way.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will fight for you to achieve the best outcome possible in your divorce or custody proceedings. We can also help you help your children by recommending qualified counselors or classes designed to help your family avoid or overcome the negative effects of a divorce.
Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a parent facing a divorce or custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
Even among parents who reach a decision about custody when getting a divorce, deciding which parent will have primary custody is usually a tough decision to make. In California, if parents cannot agree, the court will consider many factors in deciding whether one parents gets primary custody or if a joint physical custody arrangement is feasible and in the children’s best interest.
First of all, a court should always consider what is in the best interests of the children. This determination requires a closer look at the family relationships and history. For instance, a history of domestic violence will likely have some bearing in a custody decision, as would a history of drug abuse. Depending on the age and maturity of the child, the court may also consider the child’s wishes related to custody.
Under certain conditions, the court may grant custody to a third party rather than the parents. This may occur when a California court decides the children would be in danger or subject to harm in the parents’ custody and the children’s best interest would be better served by living with the third party.
One important note is that if a parent has a history of domestic violence, that parent will generally not be favored in a custody decision. The court will consider several factors in the decision, however, including completion of a batterer’s treatment program or a parenting class.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will aggressively pursue the best outcome possible for you in your divorce or custody proceedings. Judy L. Burger is known for her tenacious representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a parent facing a divorce or custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
The stress of being a military member deployed overseas to a hostile environment can be compounded by worrying about children left behind in the care of others. The joy of finally coming home can quickly turn into a nightmare if an ex-spouse refuses to return a child. This subject was the basis for a recent ruling from a California Court of Appeal.
In the case entitled In re Marriage of E.U. and J.E., both of the parents are military members. When they divorced, the court awarded joint legal custody to both parents, with the father having primary physical custody. Anticipating the possibility of deployments for both parents, the court included provisions in the final order that if one parent deployed, then the other parent would assume the role of primary parent. The order further provided that when the deployment ended, custody would revert to pre-deployment status upon return of the deployed member.
As fate would have it, the father deployed and while he was away the mother filed for and was granted a temporary custody order. When the father returned, he commenced a long and arduous legal battle to regain primary custody of his child as originally ordered. Most recently, a California Court of Appeals found in the father’s favor and he regained custody of his child.
Interestingly, during the course of the proceedings, the California Legislature passed a statute requiring the return of a child in a situation such as this to the primary custody holder. Time will tell whether and to what extent this law will be challenged by those claiming a situation has changed and returning the child to a parent recently returned from deployment is contrary to the child’s best interest.
If litigation is necessary to protect a child’s best interest, then it should be commenced immediately.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will persistently pursue the best outcome possible for you in your divorce or custody proceedings. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a parent facing a custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
Statistics compiled by Divorce Peers tells us in two out of three cases children stay with their mother in the marital home when couples split up. The vast majority of couples (sixty-five to eighty percent depending on the source) either agree at the outset how custody will be arranged or settle the matter during the pendency of their divorce. About sixty percent of couples agree for the mother to have primary physical custody.
Theoretically, courts abandoned the ‘mother is best’ mindset years ago, but it has taken time for the idea to sink in. In our experience, a mother is still more likely than a father to be awarded primary physical custody of the children if a case goes to mediation or trial, but fathers have steadily gained ground in the last twenty years. More fathers who want to be an active part of their children’s lives are fighting for that right.
The ultimate goal in a custody proceeding is to determine what is best for the children. A child needs the love and attention of both parents as long as they are fit to be parents. In deciding what is best for the children under California law, judges will consider many factors, including:
The ages of the children,
The emotional ties between the parents and the children,
The ability of the parents to care for the children,
The health of the children,
Any history of family violence or substance abuse, and
The children’s ties to school, home, and community.
Practically speaking, family court judges will also consider where the children have lived since the couple separated. For instance, if a father voluntarily left his children with their mother in the marital home and the children have lived with the mother continuously since the separation, a judge may decide the mother is the best primary custodian.
Why? Because a father who holds his children’s best interest above all other matters would not leave his children in a bad situation. Since he left his children with their mother and allowed them to reside there continuously, she must be a fit and suitable person to care for the children. In other words, the father’s actions support the mother’s claim that she is the best parent.
The point is to take care not to make the other person’s case for them. If you believe the children should live with you, then take steps to get temporary custody at the outset.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will persistently pursue the best outcome possible for you in your divorce or custody proceedings, whether you need to demonstrate the other parent’s faults, or defend such claims. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a parent facing a custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
Supervised Visitation in California
Divorce is usually a difficult time for families, but can be viewed as a process necessary to move to a more fulfilling, happy, and stable phase of life. When a divorce is the result of one parent’s terrible job of being a parent, there is no need to make the children continue suffering. It may be necessary to protect the children from being alone with a parent who is not fit to have unsupervised visitation.
In California, a court may find that a parent is unfit to be alone with his or her children and require visits to be supervised by a third party. Some common reasons a court may order supervised visitation include the following:
To give the visiting parent a chance to address specific issues;
To help reintroduce a parent and a child after a long absence;
To help introduce a parent and a child when there has been no existing relationship between them;
When there is a history or allegations of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, or substance abuse;
When there are parenting concerns or mental illness; or
When there is a threat of abduction by the non-custodial parent.
In addition to establishing supervised visitation, a court may also determine when, where, and how long visitation will take place, along with who will supervise visits. If you are going through a difficult divorce and have concerns over the safety of your children during post-divorce visits, contact us immediately to review your case and help you determine the best strategy for protecting your children.
Likewise, if you feel visitation is being wrongfully withheld due to unfounded allegations that you are an unfit parent, contact us to discuss your options and help you restore your healthy relationship with your children.
The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger can assist you in fighting for your rights and those of your children in a visitation or custody dispute in California. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a parent with a visitation or custody issue, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
Abandonment in Divorce Proceedings
In divorce proceedings, abandonment refers to when one spouse leaves the other without the intention of returning. Prior to the enactment of “no-fault” divorce laws, spouses could allege abandonment as a ground for seeking a divorce. Although proving fault is no longer required to get a divorce in California, abandonment may be factored in by a judge when awarding child custody, alimony, and deciding how marital property will be divided.
If your spouse abandoned you or the children, you should be prepared to present evidence of the fact of the abandonment and the effects it had on you and the children. You may have suffered financially and emotionally. Depending on their ages, the children’s anguish may have manifested in changes in behavior and performance at home or school. Any evidence of the negative impact of abandonment should be discussed with your attorney and prepared for presentation at trial, if necessary.
When you allege abandonment, your spouse may raise a defense of consent or justification. A deserting spouse can mitigate or eliminate any finding of fault on his part if he can show you consented to the abandonment. One example of this would be if you asked your spouse to leave and never return.
Likewise, a spouse may be able to show that the abandonment was justified due to abuse or another reason, such as the supposed abandonment was actually due to the spouse moving to take a new job while the other spouse refused to move. Under these circumstances, it is unlikely the court would attach any fault to the abandonment.
The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger can assist you in proving or defending an abandonment situation in your divorce proceedings in California. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. If you are a spouse facing divorce, call us today to learn more about how we can help you. Call (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
We recently discussed California’s requirement for parents to develop a parenting plan, also known as a “custody and visitation agreement” or a “time-share plan,” which is essentially a written agreement between parents detailing how much time the children will spend with each parent and a plan for making important decisions in the future about the child’s welfare and education.Many of the factors in a parenting plan will be obvious, others less so. In this article we will draw your attention to some of the less than obvious factors to consider when developing your ideal parenting plan. Some of these items may be extremely important to your family:
Whether there will be regular visitation with grandparents or other extended family members, and if so, how often;
Sleeping arrangements for children and parents, including the children’s or parents’ overnight guests;
Instructions for administering medication;
Dietary requirements or restrictions;
Preferred methods of discipline;
Acceptable methods and frequency of parent-child communication while the children are with the other parent;
Parent-to-parent communication guidelines;
Whether the children need both parents’ consent for piercings or body art;
Responsibility for routine vaccinations, dental care, and medical care;
Acceptable use of technology, including internet, social media, and cell phones;
Curfews for each child and anticipated exceptions, if any;
Acceptable ratings and genre for movies the children may watch;
Acceptable ratings and genre for video games the children may use;
Which extra-curricular/school/sporting events the children will participate in;
Participation in church/synagogue/mosque activities.
These factors may be beyond the usual set of essentials suggested for your parenting plan, but depending on your family dynamics, could be troublesome if not decided ahead of time. The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger can assist you in fighting for your rights and those of your children in a visitation or custody dispute in California. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. If you are a parent with a visitation or custody issue, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
California requires parents to develop a parenting plan, also known as a “custody and visitation agreement” or a “time-share plan.” A parenting plan is essentially a written agreement between parents detailing how much time the children will spend with each parent and a plan for making important decisions in the future about the child’s welfare and education.
A comprehensive parenting plan includes many factors. Its purpose is to ensure stability in the present, as well as to eliminate uncertainty in the future. Some of the most important factors to include in your parenting plan are:
1. Who will the children live with?
2. When will the children visit with the other parent?
3. Which holidays are observed by each parent, and which holidays will the children observe with each?
4. How will parents split time with the children during mutually observed holidays?
5. How will parents split time with the children on the children’s birthdays?
6. How will parents split time with the children on the parents’ birthdays?
7. Where will the children be exchanged from one parent to the other for various periods, e.g. regular visitation periods, holidays, birthdays?
8. Who will be responsible for transporting the children between parents’ homes or an alternate exchange location, and when?
9. How will car seat requirements be met, if any?
10. How will visitation schedule changes be addressed, e.g., parents’ work schedule
conflicts, or when the children’s extra-curricular activities conflict with visitation,etc.?
11. How will the parents share school vacations, and who will be responsible for the costs of child care during school vacations, if necessary?
12. How will the parents choose and share the cost of regular child care, if needed?
13. Will the other parent will have ‘first right of refusal’ if a babysitter is needed?
14. How will the parents handle the children having contact with extended family?
15. How will the parents handle the children having contact with a parent’s friends or romantic partners?
16. What if a parent needs to relocate for work or other reasons?
These factors are generally considered essential to every parenting plan in California. There are additional factors that you may want to consider as well, and we plan to address those in an upcoming article. Check back soon to learn more about constructing the ideal parenting plan.
The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger can assist you in fighting for your rights and those of your children in a visitation or custody dispute in California. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. If you are a parent with a visitation or custody issue, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area, or contact us online.
Every divorcing couple in California, or their attorneys on their behalf, must develop a parenting plan, also known as a “custody and visitation agreement” or a “time-share plan.” The parenting plan is essentially a written agreement between parents detailing how much time the children will spend with each parent and a plan for making important decisions in the future about the child’s welfare and education.
The purpose of a parenting plan is multifold. Developing the plan allows both parents to have input, and in the process allows parents to better understand which factors are more or less important to the other parent. Having a good lawyer on your side allows you to negotiate according to the information derived in the process, without your emotions betraying your good judgment.
A comprehensive parenting plan will include many factors, including a method for making important decisions about the child and a plan for breaking a tie. For instance, parents can agree that if a tie-breaker is needed, they will consult a qualified mediator to help them reach a joint decision.
Divorcing parents who do not agree on an initial parenting plan may be ordered to engage in mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful, an independent counselor may be appointed to meet individually with both parents. If the parties still cannot agree on a parenting plan, the judge may create a plan considering factors recommended by the mediator and counselor, along with the individual requests of the parties.
We strive in every case to make sure our clients’ voices are heard in developing a parenting plan, and to gain the other parent’s agreement to the plan. The reason is simple — it is better for parents to craft an agreement based on their knowledge of their children’s specific needs, rather than being forced to comply with a parenting plan constructed by a judge who does not know the children or all of the family dynamics at issue.
In cases where it is impossible to reach a reasonable agreement with the other parent, we will aggressively pursue a parenting plan that meets our client’s needs and promotes the best interests of the children.
The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger can assist you in fighting for your rights and those of your children in a visitation or custody dispute in California. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. If you are a parent with a visitation or custody issue, call us today to learn more about how we can help you. Call (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
Your children have just come home from visitation with their other parent and related some disturbing details about the weekend. Or perhaps you learned through other channels that your children have been exposed to situations you believe to be inappropriate for children of their ages, or worse, dangerous to their health and well-being. Is there anything you can do without violating the visitation order?
Most parents have an instinctive drive to protect their children from harm. The problem arises when one parent believes a situation or activity is harmful to the children, while the other parent does not. The difference of opinion may lead one parent to withhold visitation, which in turn can lead the other parent to ask the court for a finding of contempt.
While every parent should protect their children from actual, imminent danger, the underlying question in a case where visitation has been withheld is what led the custodial parent to withhold visitation in the first place. In other words, would a judge agree that continued visitation under the circumstance is likely to be harmful to the children? Will you be able to adequately defend your actions if you withhold visitation?
A better course of action, if you believe visitation with the other parent is harmful to your children, is to be proactive: Take your case to court before violating the visitation order if possible.
The general rule is that a California court will allow visitation in every case unless it would be physically or emotionally harmful to the children. Thus, if you want visitation suspended, you must be prepared to show evidence that the children have and will suffer physical or emotional harm if visitation continues.
If your situation is urgent, we may be able to help you get an ex parte order, which is in the nature of an emergency order, and is the quickest way to get temporary court approval to withhold visitation.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we receive calls regularly from parents on both sides of this issue. If you believe continued visitation is harmful to your children, or if you believe visitation has been wrongfully withheld from you, contact us to discuss your rights and a recommended course of action.
The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger can assist you in fighting for your rights and those of your children in a visitation or custody dispute in California. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. If you are a parent with a visitation or custody issue, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.
In the much-publicized divorce of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, the tabloids found dozens of opportunities to photograph each parent out and about with their daughter Suri. It’s possible they were simply going about their daily lives while being hounded by the paparazzi, but it is just as likely the soon-to-be-divorced parents were trying to build their respective cases for custody.
When a marriage falls apart, the children of the relationship are caught in the middle. Parents often overlook the negative effect of their verbal sparring on the children. Courts, on the other hand, are not prone to overlook a parent’s bad behavior while the children are present.
Just as parents take measures to protect their children from negative outside influences, parents in the midst of a divorce have a duty to protect their children as much as possible. The children’s lives are going to change, but that doesn’t mean the children should be privy to all dirty laundry.
The details of a divorce should only be shared with children to the extent warranted by each child’s mental and emotional maturity level, and never in a manner reasonably expected to cause the child to harbor ill will for the other parent.
In our experience, children are flexible, adaptable, and perceptive. They may appear to be largely unaffected by your divorce, when in fact they have many questions they are simply afraid to ask. Counseling is often recommended after a divorce to help children process the break up of their parents and learn to deal with their conflicting emotions in a healthy way.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will fight for you to achieve the best outcome possible in your divorce or custody proceedings. We can also help you help your children by recommending qualified counselors or classes designed to help your family avoid or overcome the negative effects of a divorce.
Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a parent facing a divorce or custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form. 
The stress of being a military member deployed overseas to a hostile environment can be compounded by worrying about children left behind in the care of others. The joy of finally coming home can quickly turn into a nightmare if an ex-spouse refuses to return a child. This subject was the basis for a recent ruling from a California Court of Appeal.
In the case entitled In re Marriage of E.U. and J.E., both of the parents are military members. When they divorced, the court awarded joint legal custody to both parents, with the father having primary physical custody. Anticipating the possibility of deployments for both parents, the court included provisions in the final order that if one parent deployed, then the other parent would assume the role of primary parent. The order further provided that when the deployment ended, custody would revert to pre-deployment status upon return of the deployed member.
As fate would have it, the father deployed and while he was away the mother filed for and was granted a temporary custody order. When the father returned, he commenced a long and arduous legal battle to regain primary custody of his child as originally ordered. Most recently, a California Court of Appeals found in the father’s favor and he regained custody of his child.
Interestingly, during the course of the proceedings, the California Legislature passed a statute requiring the return of a child in a situation such as this to the primary custody holder. Time will tell whether and to what extent this law will be challenged by those claiming a situation has changed and returning the child to a parent recently returned from deployment is contrary to the child’s best interest.
If litigation is necessary to protect a child’s best interest, then it should be commenced immediately.
At the 
Statistics compiled by 
California requires parents to develop a parenting plan, also known as a “custody and visitation agreement” or a “time-share plan.” A parenting plan is essentially a written agreement between parents detailing how much time the children will spend with each parent and a plan for making important decisions in the future about the child’s welfare and education.
A comprehensive parenting plan includes many factors. Its purpose is to ensure stability in the present, as well as to eliminate uncertainty in the future. Some of the most important factors to include in your parenting plan are:
1. Who will the children live with?
2. When will the children visit with the other parent?
3. Which holidays are observed by each parent, and which holidays will the children observe with each?
4. How will parents split time with the children during mutually observed holidays?
5. How will parents split time with the children on the children’s birthdays?
6. How will parents split time with the children on the parents’ birthdays?
7. Where will the children be exchanged from one parent to the other for various periods, e.g. regular visitation periods, holidays, birthdays?
8. Who will be responsible for transporting the children between parents’ homes or an alternate exchange location, and when?
9. How will car seat requirements be met, if any?
10. How will visitation schedule changes be addressed, e.g., parents’ work schedule
conflicts, or when the children’s extra-curricular activities conflict with visitation,etc.?
11. How will the parents share school vacations, and who will be responsible for the costs of child care during school vacations, if necessary?
12. How will the parents choose and share the cost of regular child care, if needed?
13. Will the other parent will have ‘first right of refusal’ if a babysitter is needed?
14. How will the parents handle the children having contact with extended family?
15. How will the parents handle the children having contact with a parent’s friends or romantic partners?
16. What if a parent needs to relocate for work or other reasons?
These factors are generally considered essential to every parenting plan in California. There are additional factors that you may want to consider as well, and we plan to address those in an upcoming article. Check back soon to learn more about constructing the ideal parenting plan.
The 
Every divorcing couple in California, or their attorneys on their behalf, must develop a parenting plan, also known as a “custody and visitation agreement” or a “time-share plan.” The parenting plan is essentially a written agreement between parents detailing how much time the children will spend with each parent and a plan for making important decisions in the future about the child’s welfare and education.
The purpose of a parenting plan is multifold. Developing the plan allows both parents to have input, and in the process allows parents to better understand which factors are more or less important to the other parent. Having a good lawyer on your side allows you to negotiate according to the information derived in the process, without your emotions betraying your good judgment.
A comprehensive parenting plan will include many factors, including a method for making important decisions about the child and a plan for breaking a tie. For instance, parents can agree that if a tie-breaker is needed, they will consult a qualified mediator to help them reach a joint decision.
Divorcing parents who do not agree on an initial parenting plan may be ordered to engage in mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful, an independent counselor may be appointed to meet individually with both parents. If the parties still cannot agree on a parenting plan, the judge may create a plan considering factors recommended by the mediator and counselor, along with the individual requests of the parties.
We strive in every case to make sure our clients’ voices are heard in developing a parenting plan, and to gain the other parent’s agreement to the plan. The reason is simple — it is better for parents to craft an agreement based on their knowledge of their children’s specific needs, rather than being forced to comply with a parenting plan constructed by a judge who does not know the children or all of the family dynamics at issue.
In cases where it is impossible to reach a reasonable agreement with the other parent, we will aggressively pursue a parenting plan that meets our client’s needs and promotes the best interests of the children.
The 
Your children have just come home from visitation with their other parent and related some disturbing details about the weekend. Or perhaps you learned through other channels that your children have been exposed to situations you believe to be inappropriate for children of their ages, or worse, dangerous to their health and well-being. Is there anything you can do without violating the visitation order?
Most parents have an instinctive drive to protect their children from harm. The problem arises when one parent believes a situation or activity is harmful to the children, while the other parent does not. The difference of opinion may lead one parent to withhold visitation, which in turn can lead the other parent to ask the court for a finding of contempt.
While every parent should protect their children from actual, imminent danger, the underlying question in a case where visitation has been withheld is what led the custodial parent to withhold visitation in the first place. In other words, would a judge agree that continued visitation under the circumstance is likely to be harmful to the children? Will you be able to adequately defend your actions if you withhold visitation?
A better course of action, if you believe visitation with the other parent is harmful to your children, is to be proactive: Take your case to court before violating the visitation order if possible.
The general rule is that a California court will allow visitation in every case unless it would be physically or emotionally harmful to the children. Thus, if you want visitation suspended, you must be prepared to show evidence that the children have and will suffer physical or emotional harm if visitation continues.
If your situation is urgent, we may be able to help you get an ex parte order, which is in the nature of an emergency order, and is the quickest way to get temporary court approval to withhold visitation.
At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we receive calls regularly from parents on both sides of this issue. If you believe continued visitation is harmful to your children, or if you believe visitation has been wrongfully withheld from you, contact us to discuss your rights and a recommended course of action.
The