Custody schedule/Child Support

[jcsct5]

State is CA

10 months (May) ago custody/visitation schedule was changed from EOWeekend with dad to EOweek for youngest child and EOextended weekend for oldest.  There was no change in circumstances, just alot of pressure from children's attorney because they wanted to spend more time with dad, and financial pressure to settle.

In July oldest child became unhappy at dads and began calling her attorney and writing her attorney asking for help in returning to old schedule.

In October dad gets a new job that requires him to leave before children are awake for the day and return home often after the children are asleep for the night.

Youngest child begins crying herself to sleep at mom's house every night since mid October.  Tells mom that she doesn't want to go to dads anymore she wants it back the way it was. (EOweekend) She writes letter to attorney and calls her.

Since July their attorney has called them one time (around Sept), the children were not home and so she left a message on the machine for them to call her back.

The children have called her, written her and given her a schedule of the best times to reach them. They have not heard from her again.

I got raked through the coles financially trying to fight the change to begin with and haven't financially recupperated from it yet, I don't have the money to go through another legal battle nor am I anxious to put my current marriage through that kind of stress again.

Dads new job has a result of more than doubling his child support obligation. In October we agreed to an amount of support about $200 below guideline. Dad got a raise this month, so now the agreed amount is $300 below guideline for the current schedule.

Dad and I are scheduled to get together to discuss CS and custody of the children. He wants both kids 50% and the kids and I want to return to the old schedule.

1) How can I offer to keep the current amount of child support in exchange for changing back to the old schedule, without getting in trouble for extortion (this would be about $700 below guideline with the change)?

2) Does children's attorney not have to respond to the children since there is no action before the court?

3) Can children's attorney even bring an action before the court on behalf of the kids?

Any recomendations?

[socrateaser]

>1) How can I offer to keep the current amount of child support
>in exchange for changing back to the old schedule, without
>getting in trouble for extortion (this would be about $700
>below guideline with the change)?

Extortion occurs when you use a threat of present or future harm or intimidation to obtain what you could not otherwise legally obtain. So, if you say, "Unless, I get Y parenting time, I will ask for $X support," then you're committing extortion, but only if, you wouldn't be entitled to $X support regardless of whether you were to have Y parenting time. You can't be held for extotion if you're entitled to what you're asking for regardless of whether or not the other parent acceeds to your demands.

But, if you make your offer predicated on a threat that you will ask for more than what you're entitled to, that's when you've crossed the line.

So, if you suggest that the children's best interests would be well served, and that you would be agreeable to a court order for $X and Y parenting time, that is ok. Just don't threaten an outcome.

I sometimes tell people to keep both custody and child support orders completely separate, so that there's no chance that the court will construe duress or undue influence in the order. But, in CA, the forms have checkboxes for both custody and support, so the court expects to see both mods in the same stipulated order.

>2) Does children's attorney not have to respond to the
>children since there is no action before the court?

Legally, unless the GAL has officially withdrawn from the case, then the attorney is ethically obliged to continue to advance the children's best interests. The counterargument is that the attorney is entitled to payment, and if he/she believes that payment is unlikely or not in the child's best interests, then the attorney can weigh the interest in not responding and saving the children money that could go to their support, vs. the interest in their substantive complaints.

And, I'll bet you can guess which interest will prevail most of the time, when there's no reasonable likelihood of being paid for services, huh?

>3) Can children's attorney even bring an action before the
>court on behalf of the kids?

If the attorney is representing the children's interests, then the children could be joined as a party and their interests directly asserted. However, generally this doesn't happen -- most actions are by a parent to advance their own interests in the children's welfare.

>Any recomendations?

See above.