Custody Orders Emergencies And Move Aways

Experienced Child Access Attorneys Handling Custody Orders, Emergencies And Move-Aways

Child custody is often one of the most disputed topics in any divorce. Child custody involves legal and physical custody — and there is a significant difference between the two.

In California, the court may grant one or both parties custody. If you and your former spouse or partner cannot agree on custody and you need to involve the court to make a decision, in Contra Costa and Alameda counties you will be required to attend counseling with Family Court Services.

Are you unable to reach an agreement with a former spouse or partner over matters like child custody and visitation arrangements or an emergency parental relocation to another state?

We will work hard to make your difficult family law issues easier to deal with. We are the experienced divorce attorneys of Whipple, Mercado & Associates, LLP, in San Ramon.

Skilled Attorneys Who Can Handle Your Custody Orders And Move-Aways

One of the most contentious situations is when one party wants to move with the child or children to another location, negatively affecting the other party’s custodial time and parental rights. This is a classic example of what is referred to as a “move-away” case.

Whether you are the moving parent or the stay-behind parent, there are myriad issues to address when the custodial parent wishes to relocate. Whatever the reason, if both parties do not agree to the move, the grieved party must seek the court’s intervention to resolve the dispute.

Factors the court considers in move-away cases include the reason for the move, the effect it will have on the current visitation schedule and the effect it will have on the noncustodial parent’s relationship with the children. It is the burden of the moving parent to prove to the court that the move is in the best interest of the children.

We provide versatile, quality legal services that can assist you in achieving your desired result. Depending on your goals and your flexibility in achieving them, we can pursue a positive outcome via constructive mediation, skillful negotiation with opposing counsel and aggressive litigation if necessary.

Our concerned, compassionate family lawyers can provide the help you need when you need it most. Contact us today to secure a free initial consultation. Call Whipple, Mercado & Associates, LLP, at 925-344-5050 locally or 800-708-3761 toll free. We respond promptly to all email messages and phone calls

Tammy J. Mercado

Tammy J. Mercado has a passion for helping her clients achieve their desired results. She listens and she personally and promptly responds to your texts, emails and phone calls. She offers real solutions to your legal matters. Tammy will carefully evaluate the legal issues in your case, provide you with sound advice and offer you the pros and cons of each possible scenario so you can meet your legal objectives. She encourages clients to participate in their own matters. Tammy believes that client participation is key to a positive result and to keeping attorney fees as low as possible. You can be sure that she will offer you straightforward, sound and honest advice in a professional manner, with integrity and excellence.

Before opening her own law practice, Tammy worked for many high-volume law firms. This gave her extensive, diversified experience in hundreds of complex family law cases as well as civil matters. She is admitted to practice law before all courts in California and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Contra Costa Bar Association, the Alameda County Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco. Tammy is also a member of the Rotary Club of Danville.

Tammy is a graduate of John F. Kennedy School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix. Tammy is also a licensed real estate broker, which comes in handy for valuing property in family law cases as well as real estate matters in the civil arena.

During her off time, Tammy is an avid sailor who crews and races on various boats in the San Francisco Bay. Tammy approaches each case as she would any yacht race: by assessing the other’s strengths, weaknesses, experience, equipment, history and reputation. She is a member of the American Sailing Association, and she is a certified Coast Guard Auxiliary member.

HONORS AND AWARDS
Tammy was selected to receive the prestigious “Business Person of the Year” Award in 2017 for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce.

Tammy is currently serving as Danville Rotary President for 2017 through 2019.

Mary C. Whipple, CFLS

Mary C. Whipple opened her first law practice in the summer of 2008. She previously was an associate attorney at the Law Office of Cummins & Holmes, a full-service civil litigation law firm in San Ramon. The majority of her experience is in family law, which includes divorce, custody, support, prenuptial agreements and domestic-violence restraining orders. Certified by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization, she is a specialist in the area of family law. Mary has also represented clients in a variety of non-family-law cases, including juvenile dependency, probate, breach of contract and employment disputes, to name a few.

Mary also previously worked as a contract attorney for O’Melveny & Meyers in San Francisco while simultaneously volunteering at the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program, representing defendants in unlawful detainer actions. The program acknowledged Mary with an Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Award in 2006 for her efforts in providing access to justice.

A seventh-generation Californian, Mary is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She earned her Bachelor of Science in criminology at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Alameda County Bar Association, and the Contra Costa County Bar Association.

In addition, Mary is active in her community as a member of the Ambassador’s Committee for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce; a volunteer at the Contra Costa County and Alameda County Superior Courts, where she assists self-represented litigants in completing their divorces; and a member of Divorce Angel, where she provides information regarding family law matters to members of the community. Since 2007 she has been a volunteer judge for Alameda and Contra Costa County’s Annual High School Moot Court Competition. She is also a member of the Danville/Sycamore Valley Rotary Club. She was awarded the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce 2012 Business Person of the Year; and a graduate of the 2012 class of Leadership San Ramon Valley.

CERTIFIED LEGAL SPECIALTIES
Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization

Custody Orders Emergencies And Move Aways