What is a Motion?

What the heck is that?

A motion is when you tell the court you want it to do something.

Supposedly, court is only motivated to do things, when you tell the court what you want and how you want it to be done. 

The court can and does do things on its own, but prefers you tell it what to do. 

So, you want your kids to be with you every-other weekend, but, you decide to ask for every weekend, knowing full well you want just every other weekend, and you cannot accommodate having your kids every weekend.

So you move, ask the court, file a motion, to have your kids with you every weekend, while you only want them part of the time.  One of several things can happen; you get what you want, or you do not get what you want. 

If you get the every weekend scenario and decide not to get them from the other party every week, and the court ordered you to do so, then you get in trouble and face a show cause hearing and contempt hearing.  The biggest and best practice is only ask for what you want and can handle.  Do not ask for things or arrangements that will make your life difficult. 

The court will come back and not accept your argument most of the time that you could not get the kids as ordered, because, you made the request.  That is like baking a cake yourself, and blaming someone else for it not being cooked right.  Well you baked it, you asked for it, you got it,  now, go to jail or face getting out of contempt. 

My biggest problem was going to court one time, the father of my stepdaughter filed for custody, and I was in the court room with my now ex-wife, and, the father filed for full custody.  Well, he was tore to pieces by the judge, because, he did not want our step-daughter to live with him full time, or to stay with him every weekend.  He did not have the space, a small apartment, or time to deal with his own daughter. 

The judge tore into him, and he finally said, on the stand, I only want her with me every other weekend.  Full custody versus every other weekend are two totally different scenarios.  God Bless.