I am divorced with shared custody in CA. I have custody of the children during the school year. Last summer I agreed to allow both children to go to the other parent’s home out of state. It has become obvious that both children are being neglected and emotionally abused. What can I do without putting t hem in harms way and not breaking any laws.

You have to file a motion or OSC for modification. Since you are post-judgment be sure you have the motion served personally (have a process server do it, you cannot do it yourself). Ask to limit visitation in the motion-- ask it be supervised if you think there is a danger of some sort.

If you are trying to change the custody designation from joint to sole (either legal or physical or both) you may need to show a change of circumstances (COC) depending on how your judgment was entered. If you filed a stipulated judgment or judgment based on an MSA was specific language included that stated you wanted the custody orders to be final Montenegro orders? Or, was the judgment entered as a result of a contested trial?

If you filed the judgment with a stipulation for entry of judgment or MSA and there was no mention that the custody orders would be final orders, you probably don't need to worry about showing COC to modify custody (you don't need it in any event if all you are doing is changing a visitation schedule).

If your motion is contested you are going to have to attend mediation before the court can modify the orders. Depending upon the county you are in the mediator may or may not make a recommendation to the judge as a result of your mediation.

That's about it. If you let me know the county you are in I can give you more details.