I am a single parent. My ex who I was never married to only pays child support when he thinks they may suspend his license or go to jail. He is $57,000 behind. In 2006 I decided that my best bet was to get my cdl and once I had them I could get a local job making more than the 8.00 an hour I was making. At that time I had 3 kids at home. The lady that was babysitting my children was the only person who had ever taken care of them. She agreed to take care of them while I did this. 4 months in to driving a drunk hit me and I had to come off the road. She said don't worry get back up on your feet and them come get the kids. Mother's day I called and said I was ready to get them. Her daughter called me back and said she had taken off with the kids and had filed for full custody and wasn't coming back until court. I tried to go get them and they were not there. I got a lawyer and filed for them to be returned. She got temporary custody by saying that I said I would pull a susan smith on the kids. Never said that. These people are in no way related to me. The children where not left with her and her husband but with her mother and father. She is a drug addict although she claims to not use any more. She is addicted to pain pills and crack. I have helped look for her enough when she has taken off to know what she looks like when she is on drugs. I go to court for a final hearing in a couple of weeks. I need case law on this. Thank you for helping.

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Originally Posted by murb

I am a single parent. My ex who i was never married to only pays child support when he thinks they may suspend his license or go to jail. He is $57,000 behind. In 2006 I decided that my best bet was to get my cdl and once I had them I could get a local job making more than the 8.00 an hour I was making. At that time I had 3 kids at home. The lady that was babysitting my children was the only person who had ever taken care of them. She agreed to take care of them while I did this. 4 months in to driving a drunk hit me and i had to come off the road. She said dont worry get back up on your feet and them come get the kids. Mother's day I called and said I was ready to get them. Her daughter called me back and said she had taken off with the kids and had filed for full custody and wasnt coming back til court. I tried to go get them and they were not there. I got a lawyer and filed for them to be returned. She got temporary custody by saying that i said i would pull a susan smith on the kids. Never said that. These people are in no way related to me. The children where not left with her and her husband but with her mother and father. She is a drug addict although she claims to not use any more. She is addicted to pain pills and crack. I have helped look for her enough when she has taken off to know what she looks like when she is on drugs. I go to court for a final hearing in a couple of weeks. I need case law on this. Thank you for helping.

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Case Law is State by State - where are you?

Also - don't know you NEED case law. You either are or are not fit and they either can or cannot prove it.

Are you by any chance in California? I only say this because you mentioned getting your "cdl" (California drivers license?).

You also said a few things that are confusing. You said a drunk hit you and you "had to come off the road." You mean you couldn't drive anymore?

If you are in California, it sounds like the people you are mentioning have a temporary guardianship over your kids and that you are returning to court for a hearing (or trial) on a permanent guardianship. First, the court investigator's office or CPS will have had to prepare a report of what's going on and you should have a copy (has that happened?). You should know about this because you should have been served all the paparwork. On the other hand, if there already is a permanent guardianship in place, you might be seeking a termination of the guardianship and be returning to court on that. You need to provide more information.

A relevant statute is Family Code section 3041 and case law to consider in terminating a guardianship is Guardianship of Simpson (1998) 67 Cal. App. 914 (that's OJ Simpson's case involving his kids by the way).

So just because my husband owns a trucking company I'm going to venture you wanted your cdl (commercial drivers license) so you could drive trucks. What class license did you get? That part dosen't matter as much but we own big rigs so I know how long you are supposed to stay out depending on your boss and how much little damage is done to a semi vs. a smaller car if they were to hit you (unless of course the accident wasn't at work or you have less than a class A CDL) but I'll try not to get off on a tangent. But as said it appears that they have guardianship of your children and you will need an attorney. The attorney will help you build your case and tell you all the types of proof that you will need to show that she was only supposed to watch your kids for a short period. Was there any communication between the two of you while you were on the road? Did you send her money for the care of your children? Did you make sure to pay all of their medical bills and everything?

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Originally Posted by cadillac59

Are you by any chance in California? I only say this because you mentioned getting your "cdl" (California drivers license?).

You also said a few things that are confusing. You said a drunk hit you and you "had to come off the road." You mean you couldn't drive anymore?

If you are in California, it sounds like the people you are mentioning have a temporary guardianship over your kids and that you are returning to court for a hearing (or trial) on a permanent guardianship. First, the court investigator's office or CPS will have had to prepare a report of what's going on and you should have a copy (has that happened?). You should know about this because you should have been served all the paparwork. On the other hand, if there already is a permanent guardianship in place, you might be seeking a termination of the guardianship and be returning to court on that. You need to provide more information.

A relevant statute is Family Code section 3041 and case law to consider in terminating a guardianship is Guardianship of Simpson (1998) 67 Cal. App. 914 (that's OJ Simpson's case involving his kids by the way).

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In California are temporary guardianship and temporary custody the same thing?

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

In California are temporary guardianship and temporary custody the same thing?

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When non-parents are granted custody it is called a guardianship (most guardianships usually involve only one person who has the equivalent of sole legal and physical custody, but it is possible to have co-guardians); but, standing alone "custody" refers only to parental custody. A temporary guardianship is one that is granted at the outset of the case (sometimes on an emergency ex parte basis or after short notice- I had one once granted 7 days after the case was filed) and a permanent guardianship is granted after a full investigative report and trial, if opposed. Of course, permanent guardianships are not all that permanent and can be terminated by showing the reasons for issuance of the guardianship no longer exist and that it serves the child's best interest to terminate the guardianship.

Temporary custody of kids in a case involving parents is an order that is issued while the underlying case (out of which the orders arise) is pending, whether it's a disso or paternity case. Temporary custody orders are modifiable without a showing of change of circumstances (COC) (that is, merely on a best interests test). Once the custody orders are final (which is only after a contested trial or stipulation of the parties expressly agreeing that the orders be treated as what we call "final Montenegro orders) (Montenegro is a case that lays a rule down on this subject), COC is needed to modify but you can always change the parenting schedule, fiddle with the timeshare that sort of thing without needing to show COC.