In cases where a child is being kept from them, parents cannot wait for a hearing to modify custody orders, especially if the child may be in danger. In cases where you need a decision from the judge right away, you can file for an emergency motion, or temporary orders. Temporary orders are valid until the court holds another hearing, or if the spouses reach a settlement on their own.
In case of an emergency, you can request a temporary order, which is also referred to as an Ex Parte hearing. The Family Law Court in California holds these hearings every morning at 8:30am. These hearings are quick and less formal than regular hearings, so you need to prepare exactly what you want to say.
Temporary orders are also for other issues in addition to child custody and visitation matters, such as:
- Temporarily restraining a spouse from approaching or contacting the other spouse
- Forcing a spouse to move out of the family home
- Providing spousal support or child support payments
- Ordering a spouse not to sell valuable assets
- Giving possession of the family home or car to a spouse
If you claim your spouse kidnapped your child by not allowing them to return to you, the police or a judge are legally obligated to investigate the claim. If it is early in the divorce process and custody orders are not in place yet, you may take you child, and then your spouse could claim you kidnapped the child. This may not sound like your spouse, but they could behave erratically if they fear they will not get what they want in the divorce. To prevent this, a temporary hearing could allow you custody, and quickly dismiss and kidnapping claims. Once that matter is settled, you can go about working on other matters in the divorce.
Sometimes, getting temporary orders can be difficult. You will have to prove that the temporary orders are necessary to award you custody because there is risk of “immediate harm to the child.” Immediate harm to the child includes having a parent who has previously committed domestic abuse or other forms of abuse to the child.
When attending an emergency hearing for temporary orders, it is usually much less formal than normal hearings. It may be held in a courtroom, or it may be held in the judge’s office. Judges sometimes only accept written evidence, or they may hear testimony from you and other witnesses. The judge will review details of your request as well as underlying facts, possibly ask some questions of you and your spouse, and view any pertaining evidence, depending on what you are requesting in the orders.
A hearing like this can take as little as 20 minutes. Afterward, the judge will make an immediate ruling where they could grant you your order, or modify it in some way. The order will only stay in effect until you and your spouse settled in through mediation, or until another official hearing is held.
In any case where a spouse is withholding a child you have custody over, immediately alert your attorney for advice on what steps to take.
