I lived in Southern California where I have been raising my daughter since she was 18 months old and she is now 7 years old. My daughter and I moved to San Francisco about 6 months ago. She is enrolled in school and we are permanent residents here in San Francisco. I just had court with the mother and agreed to her having unsupervised visits with her daughter every other weekend. The mother is still living in Southern California and the court hearing was in Southern California. Now I could tell you the reason why I want to open another court hearing up even though we just had court but that would take a lot of space so I am just going to ask the question. Am I able to open up a court case and have a hearing here in Northern California now that my daughter and I live here in Northern California. I know I wouldn't be able to if we were in another state but since we are still in California I would like to know if I am able to bring the case up here since the child and I live up here and If I am what would I need to do in order to get the ball rolling. If you need or want to know why I am wanting to open up another court hearing then just ask and I'll explain.

Thank you for answering my question and God Bless

Probably yes, if you have been living there at least 6 months.

What you are asking has nothing to do with the changing "jurisdiction" (all courts in California have jurisdiction over your case) but changing venue (the proper county for its adjudication).

The only grounds you have at the moment for a change of venue motion (if the mom still lives in the same Southern California county as the one the case is in--you didn't mention the county) is what we refer to as a "convenience of witnesses/ends of justice" basis under Code of Civil Procedure section 397(c). If the mom lives in a different Southern California County as the one the case was filed in there is a specific statutory basis for a transfer under Code of Civil Procedure section 397.5--this only applies if you were married to the mom, however. Both sections of the code make a transfer discretionary with the court but section 397.5 uses the language that the court can grant the motion if the ends of justice and convenience of the parties would be served (I think it's an easier test to satisfy under 397.5). Further, and in general, if crucial witnesses and evidence are located in the county you want to transfer to there is some case law that says it may be an abuse of discretion for the court to deny the transfer (see Silva v. Superior Court (1981) 119 Cal. App. 3d 301,304- abuse of discretion to deny a husband's 397(c) transfer where husband (custodial parent) attested to economic, educational and financial disruption of family unit if venue continued in wife's county of residence in disso action in which wife, whom husband believed has fallen under control of a cult after her disappearance, intended to contest visitation and call parties' children as witnesses [citing Hogoboom & King, Cal. Prac. Guide: Family Law (The Rutter Group 2008); 4:128].

So, it all depends on your reasons for the transfer. One thing that comes to mind as a possible reason to grant this motion in your case may be the issue of appointment of minor's counsel-- if the court is inclined to appoint a lawyer to represent your daughter because the case is high conflict, then I could see a judge wanting to have the appointment done by a SF judge for the convenience of that particular attorney who would be appointed. But without more facts it's impossible to say how a court would rule on it.

You have to file the motion in the court in Southern California and it's up to your judge there to make the decision. If the transfer is granted you then pay the court a transfer fee, plus the full filing fee (for a new case) that goes off to the San Francisco court and when they get the file they open up their own case and assign a local case number.

You cannot file a new case in San Francisco. Don't do that. The court will just dismiss the case once it learns of the Southern Calif. Case and you will have wasted a filing fee. You will also be scolded and told to file a motion to transfer.

Case law says you are suppose to do these motions "promptly" so I'm not sure that having waited 6 months is going to have hurt your chances of having the transfer granted (it may have, hard to say). It can't hurt to give it a try. In my experience, unless everyone ( mom, dad and the kid)has moved away from the county you want to transfer from, or unless some other really good reason exists to transfer or something weird is going on most judges don't like to grant these motions.

How long ago was this hearing for custody and why are you trying to change it ?

Cadillac59,
Thank you for answering my question, The reason that I want to move the case to SF is that the judge continues to favor the mother even though the mother lost custody because of child abuse. The case is a Riverside county case. We had court two weeks ago and during our court hearing I agreed for the mother to have every other weekend. I would not be trying to have a case re-opened except that after court the mother had an overnight visit and during her visit my daughters brothers where tormenting her to a point that she is completely miserable. When the next day came she was allowed to come by my moms house to pick up a helmet so she could go on a bike ride but when she arrived at the house she was upset, her mom told her that if she asked to stay with my mom that she wouldn't bring my daughter back ever which isn't something you tell a child especially when the grandmother has been the mother figure in her life. Now I told her mother that it is going to take some time for her to try and build a relationship with her daughter because her daughter remembers what she had done to her, but instead of trying to build a relationship she threatened her and then when my daughter would not go because she was afraid that her mom wasn't going to bring her back and hurt her because she asked to stay the mother then tried to force her into the car my daughter ran to me and the mother was pulling on her to get her out of my arms at that point I just told the mother that I am not going to force her to go then the mother took my daughters helmet and threw it on the ground which scratched it all up and she had just got that helmet for her birthday the day before. The thing is, is that my daughter is very afraid of her mom. At first I thought the mother had changed but by her behavior she hasn't and it's sad because I was hoping that they could try to build a relationship, but that isn't going to happen because my daughter wants nothing to do with her now. So now when I go to take my daughter to the airport to put her on the plane she isn't going to want to get on because she is afraid that her mother isn't going to allow her to come back and that if she says anything about coming back she is afraid that her mom is going to hurt her. Her brother about two years ago forced my daughter to touch his penis and the mother did nothing about it and all she said was that they are kids. I don't believe that a 9 year old boy or any boy should tell or force any other child to touch his privates, but he did and when she stayed at her moms house the mom forced my daughter to sleep with her brother. Now I told the courts and the courts made it a ruling that she have her own bed which is good but that doesn't change the fact that my daughter is afraid to go. The mother has a long history of violence and all she knows is violence and I am also afraid of her hurting my daughter just to get back at me now that she has more time. I thought she had changed but by the way she acted the last time she proved to not have changed at all. And if it's not her that hurts my daughter then it is her brothers. I don't know what to do. The Judge in So Cal knows the violent history of the mother but she believes in rehabilitation. I don't know what to do. I had a lawyer but fired him because he lied to me and told me that I needed a moving exit order but I did not need one because I have physical and sol custody so if you can help me out or lead me in the right direction or refer me to a lawyer that could help me push paper in the SF district or help me with pushing paper so I can continue to protect my daughter from a violent mother that hasn't changed then please help. I just need to know what I can do from up here and to see if I am able to move the case up here so I won't have to deal with a judge that favors the mother. The mother just got released from a 9 month house arrest term because she was stealing from a store got caught the old lady that owned the store went after her, got stuck to the car and was dragged down the parking lot about 30 feet. The lady was almost 60 years old. And even though she did this the judge still favors her. I am afraid for my daughter and I want to protect her but I am unable to do that with a judge that favors mothers. I don't have anymore money to get a lawyer and I know I have asked for a referral and am still interested and if you can help that would be great. I have been fighting for my daughter for the last 5 and a half years and have been raising her for that long as well but now I need help with this next step. Do I have to force my daughter on the plane and what rights does she have even though she is only 7. I know I need to follow court orders but I am sure if I opened up another case here or took this back to court that the judge is going to frown upon me and could cost me custody of my daughter and if I don't force my daughter to get on the plane I could lose custody of her and what happens if the mother does something to my daughter she has before what makes me think she won't do it again, I hate the fact that I have to force my daughter to do something that she is afraid to do or go and if she was hurt because I did then I don't know what I would do. I know I have rambled on but if you could help that would be great!

Thank you and God Bless

Thanks
Brandon

Also cadillac59,

We were never married

Cadillac59,
Thank you for answering my question, The reason that I want to move the case to SF is that the judge continues to favor the mother even though the mother lost custody because of child abuse. The case is a Riverside county case. We had court two weeks ago and during our court hearing I agreed for the mother to have every other weekend. I would not be trying to have a case re-opened except that after court the mother had an overnight visit and during her visit my daughters brothers where tormenting her to a point that she is completely miserable. When the next day came she was allowed to come by my moms house to pick up a helmet so she could go on a bike ride but when she arrived at the house she was upset, her mom told her that if she asked to stay with my mom that she wouldn't bring my daughter back ever which isn't something you tell a child especially when the grandmother has been the mother figure in her life. Now I told her mother that it is going to take some time for her to try and build a relationship with her daughter because her daughter remembers what she had done to her, but instead of trying to build a relationship she threatened her and then when my daughter would not go because she was afraid that her mom wasn't going to bring her back and hurt her because she asked to stay the mother then tried to force her into the car my daughter ran to me and the mother was pulling on her to get her out of my arms at that point I just told the mother that I am not going to force her to go then the mother took my daughters helmet and threw it on the ground which scratched it all up and she had just got that helmet for her birthday the day before. The thing is, is that my daughter is very afraid of her mom. At first I thought the mother had changed but by her behavior she hasn't and it's sad because I was hoping that they could try to build a relationship, but that isn't going to happen because my daughter wants nothing to do with her now. So now when I go to take my daughter to the airport to put her on the plane she isn't going to want to get on because she is afraid that her mother isn't going to allow her to come back and that if she says anything about coming back she is afraid that her mom is going to hurt her. Her brother about two years ago forced my daughter to touch his penis and the mother did nothing about it and all she said was that they are kids. I don't believe that a 9 year old boy or any boy should tell or force any other child to touch his privates, but he did and when she stayed at her moms house the mom forced my daughter to sleep with her brother. Now I told the courts and the courts made it a ruling that she have her own bed which is good but that doesn't change the fact that my daughter is afraid to go. The mother has a long history of violence and all she knows is violence and I am also afraid of her hurting my daughter just to get back at me now that she has more time. I thought she had changed but by the way she acted the last time she proved to not have changed at all. And if it's not her that hurts my daughter then it is her brothers. I don't know what to do. The Judge in So Cal knows the violent history of the mother but she believes in rehabilitation. I don't know what to do. I had a lawyer but fired him because he lied to me and told me that I needed a moving exit order but I did not need one because I have physical and sol custody so if you can help me out or lead me in the right direction or refer me to a lawyer that could help me push paper in the SF district or help me with pushing paper so I can continue to protect my daughter from a violent mother that hasn't changed then please help. I just need to know what I can do from up here and to see if I am able to move the case up here so I won't have to deal with a judge that favors the mother. The mother just got released from a 9 month house arrest term because she was stealing from a store got caught the old lady that owned the store went after her, got stuck to the car and was dragged down the parking lot about 30 feet. The lady was almost 60 years old. And even though she did this the judge still favors her. I am afraid for my daughter and I want to protect her but I am unable to do that with a judge that favors mothers. I don't have anymore money to get a lawyer and I know I have asked for a referral and am still interested and if you can help that would be great. I have been fighting for my daughter for the last 5 and a half years and have been raising her for that long as well but now I need help with this next step. Do I have to force my daughter on the plane and what rights does she have even though she is only 7. I know I need to follow court orders but I am sure if I opened up another case here or took this back to court that the judge is going to frown upon me and could cost me custody of my daughter and if I don't force my daughter to get on the plane I could lose custody of her and what happens if the mother does something to my daughter she has before what makes me think she wont do it again, I hate the fact that I have to force my daughter to do something that she is afraid to do or go and if she was hurt because I did then I don't know what I would do. I know I have rambled on but if you could help that would be great!

Thank you and God Bless

Thanks
Brandon


Gosh, the stuff that you related is sad and unfortunately these kinds of cases are in the courts all the time. The things that you related happened are serious and justify, in my opinion, some immediate action on your part. I'm wondering why you agreed to the mom having overnights with her history. Nonetheless, the things that you described having occurred since the overnight order went into effect justify an ex parte (emergency) hearing for a modification (emphasize in your declaration what happened with the mom trying to force your daughter into the car, trying to grab her from your arms, her throwing the helmet on the ground, the part about the brother, all this is serious and all are red flags). You need to ask that the mom have supervised or no visitation pending a full custody evaluation. That's what I think. Also, I would ask the judge appoint minor's counsel to represent your daughter.

Changing venue might be fine. You're not going to get it on an ex parte (emergency) basis. As I mentioned before, the request for appointment of minor's counsel dovetails nicely with the request for a change of venue and justifies it to some extent: If you live in SF you need a local SF attorney to represent your daughter since that attorney needs to be able to easily contact her to be able to represent her.

The reason you need to get into court fast is because you risk violating the court's order by not allowing the weekend visitation. Yeah, you can defend a contempt by arguing the child was in danger, but who wants to be in the position of only having a defense to a contempt citation? Not good. Try to change to order immediately. You made a mistake agreeing to it.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, contact Riverside's Family Law Facilitator's office and say you need an ex parte because of what's happened since the last time you were in court. The mom's violent and is a danger around the child. They ought to be able to guide you through the process and get a hearing right away before the judge. Let the judge know the whole story, just like you've told it here. After the ex parte or at the same time file the motion to change venue and with it request a 730 custody evaluation or at least a partial (in some counties "3111 evaluation").