Visitation

[Pedro]

Dear Soc

First off I am desperate and all out of options. Iam in Los Angeles,California.
Here are the facts

1. I have a 5 yearld son, mother has physical custody, we have joint legal custody. Mother and I have never been married.

2. I have visitation rights 1st 3rd and 5th weekends and odd ending year's holidays are for me.

3.For the past 3 almost 4 years she has given me nothing but problems when it comes to seeing my son.

4. I filed in 2004 for visitation so that I could have actual documentation, before I saw my son at her convenience not that it is any difference now. Then I modified visitation in 2005 and again this year 2006.

5. This year around May I got a court order which states my rights listed in #2. Since then I have had sherrifs escort me back and forth from the house where my son and his mother are. This way the cops would help eliminate any type of confrantions like in the past with some of her other family members.

6.Once back in June when she was staying at her father's house I showed up and father said she and my son no longer where there and he did not know where she was. I proceeded to file a police report in case i had to file for contempt

7. then I found her at mothers house and I kept being escorted by sheriff to and from pick ups of my son.

8. Finally now in September she moved again and her mother refuses to tell me where I can find her. So I filed anther police report stating that she is not compling with court order.

9. I filed for a modification of Visitation so that I can try and get full custody. But now I cannot find her again. I have court documents to serve her with. But I cannot find her to serve her
QUESTION: WHAT CAN I DO IN THIS CASE?

10. She has 3 other older children with her ex-husband and I really don't know the situation with her other children, but I do remember that the time I was with her, she also gave other dad problems with visitation. She bounces from city to city, she has no job, she lives off of the child support from all her 4 kids.

11. Is their anything I can do to find her?

12. Can I file for contempt?

13. What should I do, I miss my son and hate that she keeps playing yo-yo with his feelings.

14. I will be getting married in1 year and I just want him to live with me, I would never take him away from forming a relationship with his mother, but I would love for him to live with me. Is their anything I can do?

Thanks
Pete in LA

[socrateaser]

>9. I filed for a modification of Visitation so that I can try
>and get full custody. But now I cannot find her again. I have
>court documents to serve her with. But I cannot find her to
>serve her
>QUESTION: WHAT CAN I DO IN THIS CASE?

If the other parent has secreted the child away from you in violation of your existing custody/visitation orders, and you are unable to exercise your court ordered custody/visitation rights as a consequence, then contact the district attorney's office in the county where the child and mother were previously residing, and tell them that you would like to file a complaint under Family Code Section 3131.

>12. Can I file for contempt?

Yes, but you'll have to serve her in order to do this, and if you can't find her, then you can't serve her. After making a diligent attempt to locate the other parent, you can effect legal service by "publication" in a local paper, but you need to file for court permission to do this.

So, I would start with the DA, assuming that the other parent has actually failed to permit the visitation to which you are entitled.

If you obtain another escort to visit, then you could ask the police officer who assists to serve the papers on the other parent.

>13. What should I do, I miss my son and hate that she keeps
>playing yo-yo with his feelings.

This question is too broad. Don't whine -- assert your rights.

>14. I will be getting married in1 year and I just want him to
>live with me, I would never take him away from forming a
>relationship with his mother, but I would love for him to live
>with me. Is their anything I can do?

Your pending marriage is irrelevant to your other circumstances.

Getting primary custody of the child requires that you prove that a substantial change in circumstances affecting the child's best interests has occurred, and then proving that you are the better day-to-day caretaker for the child.

To start with you need to find the other parent, so take things one step at a time.