Notify family members of your plan to move
After you file your papers, you have to notify some of the child's family members about your request to move out of state with the child. To let them know, you must either tell them about your request and get their signed consent or have someone give or mail a copy of the court papers to them (called serve court papers).
Who you need to notify
You need to notify everyone who got notice when the case started.
For your case, it would be all the people you listed on your filed Petition to Fix Residence Outside the State of California (form GC-085) in item 8 on Page 2.
How do you need to notify everyone?
You can either get their consent or have a copy of the papers hand-delivered or mailed to them at least 15 days before the court hearing.
Ask for consent
If any of the people you have to notify agree to end the guardianship, they can sign a consent at the bottom of the Petition to Fix Residence Outside the State of California (form GC-085) on Page 2. Make a copy and file the consent with the court. Keep in mind, even if they sign the consent, they can change their mind and still go to the court date to object.
Serve by mail
For anyone you need to notify who did not sign the consent, you will need to have someone 18 or older, not you, mail a copy of the Petition and Notice to them. The person who mails is called the server. If you prefer, the server can also hand-deliver the papers to them, but it is not required.
- Make copies of the Petition (and all the attachments) and the Notice of Hearing for every person required to get a copy. Make one extra copy of the Notice of Hearing.
- Have the server mail the copies at least 15 days before your court date
- After the server mails the Petition and Notice, they need to fill out and sign Page 2 of the Notice. If they served more than 4 people, they can fill out and attach the Attachment to Notice of Hearing (form GC-020(MA)). This is the proof the court requires to show the papers were served.
- File the Notice with the signed proof of service at least 5 days before your court date.
You will need to prove to the judge that you really tried to find them or explain how you know they are not alive. Write down everything you did to try to find them, with details of whom you talked to, the dates, and what the results were. If you don't even know the name of a relative, say so but explain how you tried to find out.
- Then, file a Request to Dispense With Notice that includes all the details of your efforts. It is not an existing court form, so ask your court's Self-Help Center if they can help you with a sample.
- File your Request to Dispense with Notice with an Order Dispensing Notice (form GC-021) for the judge.
If the judge approves your request, they will sign the Order Dispensing With Notice and you will be able to move ahead with your case without giving notice to the missing relatives.
Ask to move out of state
What's next?
You can start to prepare for your court date. Find out what to bring to court and what to expect in court.