In Oregon, we have mandatory consolidation with a juvenile case and a divorce case. It would be heard in the Juvenile Court with the juvenile judge. What typically happens is, both of the cases will run simultaneously, but depending on what’s happening in the juvenile case, you may want to slow the divorce case down […]
Child Abuse
What should a parent do if Family Services contacts them and wants to discuss an incident?
Parents should not talk to Family Services. It’s your right to remain silent in a criminal case. Many parents just start talking and tell Family Services all sorts of things. You will find that you will say something that you think is helping you that will somehow be twisted against you. If Family Services is […]
How does a Family Services referral during a pending divorce action impact the custody determination?
That referral can have a big impact on the custody determination because Family Services will do an investigation. They will want to talk to all the parties and the children. Perhaps the mom and her new boyfriend got into a big argument and there’s some physical nature to it and the children witnessed it. Now, […]
Is a parent advised to go to court to protect their child rather than involving Family Service?
In a divorce case, yes. Clients are almost always advised to try to take action in divorce court to get their child protected. You have all the ways to protect your child that you need in divorce court. If it was a criminal act that occurred at that point and it was confirmed in a […]
What are some of the reasons why a parent should call Family Services during a divorce action?
Parents are advised to not call Family Services. Family Services doesn’t necessarily help a situation in a divorce case, and it’s best for a parent, if they’re concerned about their child having been abused in some way or neglected, to have the ability to go to Circuit Court and request a hearing on immediate danger […]
What typically leads to Family Services investigations during divorce cases?
Often, divorce cases can become highly antagonistic between the two parents, especially if they are fighting over custody or a parenting plan with the children. Sometimes things happen in one or the other parent’s household that the other parent gets concerned about and they may call Family Services. Also, maybe a grandparent would call Family […]
What constitutes and what proof is required to establish child abuse or neglect?
There are different kinds of child abuse. There’s physical abuse, where typically you see a bruise or some other physical proof that a child had been injured. There’s neglect, where the child isn’t being cared for properly, where they’re being not supervised, where there’s not enough food or clothing or they’re not getting to school. […]
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