-- Beth Padilla

Child custody matters often come to a head around the holidays. Parents frequently want to change the parenting plan (a.k.a. the custody arrangement) for special holiday events. The reality of our court system is that making changes that require court review or intervention a few weeks before Christmas is unlikely to occur before the holiday. However, this does not necessarily mean parents are stuck with a parenting plan that neither of them wants for the holidays. We often encourage our clients to come up with sensible agreements with their ex-partner to benefit the children, especially during the holidays.

So what can you do if you and your ex agree to change the plan but do not have time to go to court? We suggest you draft a written stipulation explaining in great detail how the parenting plan ordered by the court will be modified for the holiday season. The parties should notarize the stipulation and file it with the court. We can assist families with stipulations on an hourly basis without a retainer. If you would like help drafting a stipulation, please contact us.

Padilla Law, P.C. is pleased to announce that Paul Padilla has been appointed to the Criminal Justice Act Petty Offense and Misdemeanor Panel, for the United States District Court, District of Colorado.

The Criminal Justice Act was originally created in 1964 to establish a system for appointing and compensating lawyers to represent defendants who are financially unable to retain counsel in federal criminal proceedings.  Later, the CJA was expanded to create federal defender organizations, similar to state public defenders.

In Southwest Colorado, the CJA Panel is used to hire local attorneys as defense counsel, when a federal public defender is not available or has a conflict that otherwise prohibits him or her from working on a case.