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Law Office of Barbara Suskind |
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Mediator Special Master Private Judge • Referee |
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SPECIAL MASTER |
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Using an Attorney Special Master to help make decisions about your children can be a time and money saving alternative to repeatedly going to court and having a judge make decisions. Your Special Master is a family law attorney who specializes in helping parents resolve disputes about what is best for the children and can recommend such decisions. Some of the issues parents frequently address with the Special Master include: schedules, overnight visitation, choice of schools, extracurricular activities, troubles at custody/visitation exchanges, holiday schedules, handling children’s behavior, health issues, and problematic behaviors of the other parent. When you agree to use a Special Master and have agreed on who that person will be, Stipulation and Order will be prepared and filed. That Stipulation and Order will identify who the Special Master will be, what issues will be addressed by the Special Master, and the circumstances under which the Special Master Recommendations become orders. The Special Master will want to meet the parties and, perhaps, the children. She will review current and past custody/visitation orders, evaluations, and other documents that will help her become familiar with the family and the types of problems that have come up in the past. When a dispute arises the Special Master will want to know what each party’s position is and may want to get additional information from the children, other family members, doctors, teachers, therapists, or other people with factual and relevant information about the situation. She may not act as a mediator. The Special Master will not grant a request that impacts the children and/or the other parent based upon the request of one parent without giving the other parent an opportunity to respond. The Special Master may ask for the request and the response in writing. The Special Master may set up a meeting. If the parties cannot agree, the Special Master will make a decision that will be presented to the court as a Recommendation. The Recommendation will become a court order without further action by any party. If a party is opposed to the decision, s/he may file opposition with the court and the court will have a hearing to modify or set aside the Special Master’s Recommendation. Only in the event of a true emergency brought to the Special Master’s attention or verified by a credible third party (usually a child’s therapist, physician, teacher, or day care provider), will she take action without input from all parties. |
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To contact us:
3478 Buskirk Ave., Ste. 1000 Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Phone: 925-372-4830 Fax: 925-957-0703 E-mail: BSuskind@BSuskind.com |