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Family Forum / Marriage / Divorce / September 2006Child support - change of county?
I have a relatively simple question...first of all, my ex wife and I are getting along great, and we have no issues to battle out in court. We have our child support setup, I pay it, get my daughter every week, etc... My question, however, is how would we go about changing all of our court appointments to a different county? My wife and I were married (and divorced) in the same county. Since then, we have both moved out of the area. I was actually living out of state for a few years, but am now back in the same state. My wife has to drive about 2.5 hrs (and I have to drive about 1.5) to get to this county any time we have court dates. (And by court dates, I just mean reviews for change of income, etc)... Since neither of us live anywhere near there, we would both like to have our court proceedings moved to a different county that is closer to (or at least somewhere in between) the two of us. I have asked the local courthouse that we have been going to what we would need to do to change counties, and they just sort of say we have to stay there since we were married and divorced there...but if this is something that both my ex and myself need to have done, how can they possibly FORCE us to stay there? (Are they getting some kind of cut from the processing of the child support or something?) It's a little backwards far-out country type of a courthouse anyway, and we just really have no need to make this long boring drive. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks! If you are happy with the situation you have dont rock the boat by filing in another county. >I have a relatively simple question...first of all, my ex wife and I > are getting along great, and we have no issues to battle out in court. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks! >>I have a relatively simple question...first of all, my ex wife and >>I are getting along great, and we have no issues to battle out in [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >>have both moved out of the area. I was actually living out of state >>for a few years, but am now back in the same state... <snip> There is an outside chance that, upon a proper motion, the court could enter an order to transfer the case to another county, but likely only if the other county is in the same judicial district (/k/a fiefdom) as some districts include multiple counties. But otherwise, to change the venue (county) where your case is pending, whoever is the petitioner would likely need to dismiss the case where it is pending and refile in the other county, starting from scratch. To understand how the case could be heard in another county, it helps to understand how the venue (the place) where a case is filed may, be a matter of preference. Generally, divorces are filed+heard where the responding party resides or where the parties last resided as husband and wife -- a party has the right to insist that suit be filed i the proper venue. But this can be waived. As long as the state has jurisdiction to here the case, the locale within that state can be decided by the parties. It is not unusual for the parties to agree to have the case filed+heard in a county where no friends or family who would stick their noses into their private issues, or where the court's docket is less crowded. I could see why we may need to remain in the same county if the divorce was still ongoing... but we have been divorced for about 6 years now, and the only reason we have to keep going back to that little place is whenever one of us (my wife or I) has a change in income to re-evaluate child support status, etc... but since neither myself or my ex live near there, anytime we do that we are having to take off work and drive for about an hour (for me) and about 2 hours for my ex. This is just a big inconvenience, and since my ex wife and I both would prefer someplace a bit closer, I don't see why we can't get that done. I just didn't know how to go about doing it, and when we ask them at the family law master they just simply put us off and say basically that it can't be done. (I don't like anyone telling me that ANYTHING can't be done, lol)...especially something like this. The county and location we keep having to go to simply is too far or out of the way for us. Although we do only live about 2 or 3 counties away from there, what would have happened had we moved across the country to California? Would they expect us to fly or drive in just to go to this little far-out county for things like this? > >>I have a relatively simple question...first of all, my ex wife and > >>I are getting along great, and we have no issues to battle out in [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > in a county where no friends or family who would stick their noses > into their private issues, or where the court's docket is less crowded. > we have been divorced for about 6 years now, and the only reason > we have to keep going back to that little place is whenever one of us > (my wife or I) has a change in income to re-evaluate child support > status, etc... but since neither myself or my ex live near there, anytime > we do that we are having to take off work and drive for about an hour > (for me) and about 2 hours for my ex. This is just a big inconvenience A court case is not like an account at a bank where you can go to another branch or move your account to different bank to suit your convenience. The court where the decree was entered owns your case, not you. Once a court has entered a decree or judgment, only that same court has the authority to modify it. Your convenience or inconvenience simply has nothing to so with it. =R= > I could see why we may need to remain in the same county if the divorce > was still ongoing... but we have been divorced for about 6 years now, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Would they expect us to fly or drive in just to go to this little > far-out county for things like this? It is certainly possible to change jurisdictions if the child is no longer residing the the state where the original order was filed (the rules that govern this are under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act), and I imagine it might be possible to change the county that has jurisdiction within the state as well. I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think Roger is wrong in this case because he is looking at it as a case that is *pending*, when in fact a judgment *has been entered* in the original jurisdiction and as such the case cannot be dismissed and refiled, but it can be modified. That said, you surely need to consult a lawyer as to whether it is possible to move the jurisdiction from one county to another, and will be able to get a better answer than you do from the family law master. I wonder, though, why taking a taking a day off work and having to drive for an hour or two is such an onerous burden...just how often do y'all have to go back to court, anyhow? If you are both in agreement that it's a pain in the a.s, then the simplest course of action is to simply stop filing so many d*mn petitions to modify. You are not required to modify your child support award every time you get a $.50/hr raise, you know. Most courts only want to hear from you when there's been a substantial change in circumstances, often defined for the purposes of child support as more than 10%. It's not unheard of for parents to continue on with the original support order for years and years. If you both are in agreement that it's a hassle, why not just agree to let sleeping dogs lie for a while? > It is certainly possible to change jurisdictions if the child is no longer > residing the the state where the original order was filed (the rules that [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think Roger is wrong in this > case because... <snip> I'm ethno-centric, thinking only in terms of Florida. Someone, slap me with a wet noddle. OF COURSE, the UCCJEA has provisions for other states to exercize jurisdiction (as John Riggs's case proved), and within a state there may be statutes or procedures for transferring cases -- something that we do not have. OP... consult a local lawyer. =R= Well, as you recall, one state claims to have jurisdiction, but still refuses to address the originating state's authority in the matter, but rather leave the case open while admitting they have no right to pursue or collect, in short, calling it a private matter, making it illegal for ANY government agency to collect. In short, remember these words "Original, continuing, exclusive jurisdiction" .... straight from the federal statutes on the matter in reference to the UCCJA and the PKPA of 1980. After January 1, 1998, the originating state has jurisdiction unless both parties agree, and move the court to transfer the case to another jurisdiction. Not withstanding the state laws that also have effects on the ability to circumvent this, such as Nebraska's law which allows a person to leave or move to anther state and still retain citizenship, as long as that person intends to return to Nebraska ....... and I have yet to see a judge or lawyer that is able to read minds to show a person's intent. There are circumstances where it is possible to move jurisdiction, but remember, the laws are still evolving to disallow for more than one state and one decision, where prior to January 1, 1998 it was possible to have more than one state having jurisdiction over the same children. The changes were made to prevent forum shopping, which is what my ex had done .... and was caught (which is why I am not being challenged) Still a sore subject with me ... or can you tell? > > It is certainly possible to change jurisdictions if the child is no longer > > residing the the state where the original order was filed (the rules that [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > within a state there may be statutes or procedures for transferring cases > -- something that we do not have. OP... consult a local lawyer. =R= |
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