Request for Order for change of child custody, visitation, child support, Family Court 3044 presumption
1 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA 2 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO 3 UNIFIED FAMILY COURT 4
5) 6 MIRANDA DEVLIN,) Case Number: FDI-21-794941) 7 Petitioner) Hearing Date: July 30, 2026) 8 VS.) Hearing Time: 9:00 AM) 9 TAD DEVLIN,) Department: 403) 10 Respondent) Presiding: JPT JUDITH E. HARDING) 11) 12 REQUEST FOR ORDER FOR CHANGE OF CHILD CUSTODY, VISITATION (PARENTING TIME), 13 CHILD SUPPORT, FAMILY COURT 3044 PRESUMPTION 14 TENTATIVE RULING 15 Having read and considered the pleadings, declarations, and other evidence submitted in this matter, the 16 Court makes the following findings and orders: 17 A.
Procedural History 18 1) The parties are Petitioner Miranda Devlin (Mother) and Respondent Tad Devlin (Father). They 19 share two minor children: Chloe (DOB: 4/25/12) and Paige (DOB: 4/15/16). 20 2) Per the Findings and Order After Hearing (FOAH) filed 11/21/24, Mother had parenting time 21 with the minor children every Tuesday after school until Wednesday morning drop off at school 22 and every other weekend from Friday after school until Sunday at 5:00 PM. 23 3) On 11/27/24, the Court granted a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) after a 6-day 24 trial.
Father is the protected party, and Mother is the restrained party. The minor children are not 25 listed as protected parties; however, Father was awarded sole legal and sole physical custody. 26 4) On 10/8/25, Mother filed a Request for Order seeking: (a) a finding that Mother rebutted the 27 Family Code section 3044 presumption against joint custody; (b) joint legal and physical custody; 28 (c) modification of the parenting time orders to increase her time an extra day during the week 29
1 and one extra night every other weekend; (c) modification of the 2/11/25 child support orders to 2 guideline child support. Mother attached a proposed holiday schedule to her Request for Order. 3 5) On 10/8/25, Mother filed an Income and Expense Declaration. 4 6) On 11/17/25, the parties appeared for Readiness hearing. The matter was scheduled for mediation 5 with Family Court Services on 1/6/26 and regular hearing in Dept. 403 on 2/3/26. 6 7) On 11/5/25, Father filed a Responsive Declaration in opposition to Mother’s Request for Order 7 asking the Court to deny Mother’s requested relief.
However, Father states that he is agreeable to 8 Mother having the minor children an extra weeknight (Tuesday and Wednesday night until 9 Thursday morning school drop-off) on weekends that Mother does not have parenting time. 10 8) On 11/5/25, Father filed an Income and Expense Declaration. 11 9) On 11/12/25, Mother filed a Reply Declaration reiterating her requests. 12 10) On 1/6/26, the parties attended FCS mediation but did not reach an agreement. 13 11) On 1/27/26, Mother filed a supplemental declaration in support of her position. 14 12) On 2/3/26, the parties appeared at hearing, and Father requested a long-cause (i.e., evidentiary) 15 hearing.
The Court did not adopt any portion of its Tentative Ruling issued for the 2/3/26 hearing 16 and set all pending issues for long-cause hearing on 5/21/26. 17 13) On 5/6/26, Mother filed an Income and Expense Declaration. 18 14) On 5/21/26, the parties appeared at the long-cause hearing and the Court, in pertinent part: (a) 19 determined Mother rebutted the Family Code section 3044 presumption against joint custody; (b) 20 granted Mother’s request for joint legal custody; (c) increased Mother’s parenting time with the 21 minor children from Tuesdays pick-up afterschool to Thursday drop off at school with alternate 22 weekends; and (d) ordered the parties to attend FCS Mediation on 6/18/26.
The Court made 23 additional orders, including continuing the matter to 6/30/26 for issues related to child support, 24 summer schedule, vacation schedule, and make-up time. 25 15) On 6/18/26, the parties attended FCS mediation and were able to reach a partial agreement. 26 16) At the prior 6/30/26 hearing, the Court ordered that Chloe shall attend Lowell High School for the 27 upcoming 2026-2027 school year, Paige shall attend Sant Peter and Paul Elementary and Middle 28 School through 8th grade, and all outstanding issues are continued to 7/30/26. 29
1 17) On 7/20/26, Mother filed a supplemental declaration requesting guideline child support and 2 spousal support retroactive to 2/1/26 based on Chloe living with Mother full time and Paige being 3 on a 2-2-5 parenting time schedule. Mother states her unemployment and increased parenting 4 time has resulted in depletion of funds. 5 18) On 7/20/26, Mother filed an Income and Expense Declaration. 6 19) On 7/20/26, Father filed an Income and Expense Declaration. 7 B. Findings and Order 8 1) Mother’s request for modification of the 2/11/25 support order is GRANTED retroactive to 9 2/1/26 as the Court finds Mother met her burden of showing a change in circumstances 10 warranting a modification of support given that Mother’s employment status and the parties’ 11 parenting time changed.
See Marriage of Bardzik (2008) 165 CA4th 1291, 1303-1304. 12 2) For the period of 2/1/26 (date on which Chloe started living with Mother fulltime) to 5/1/26 (date 13 on which Mother’s employment ended), and in accordance with” XSpouse A” attached hereto 14 and incorporated herein, Father owes Mother $4,240 in guideline monthly child support and 15 $3,824 in guideline monthly spousal support for a total monthly support order of $7,764. 16 3) For the period of 5/1/26 (date on which Mother’s employment ended) - 5/21/26 (date on which 17 the Court ordered a 2-2-5 parenting time schedule), and in accordance with” XSpouse B” 18 attached hereto and incorporated herein, Father owes Mother $5,326 in guideline monthly child 19 support and $5,313 in guideline monthly spousal support for a total monthly support order of 20 $10,408. 21 4) Effective 5/21/26 (date on which the Court ordered a 2-2-5 parenting time schedule), and in 22 accordance with “XSpouse C” attached hereto and incorporated herein, Father owes Mother 23 $5,677 in guideline monthly child support and $5,576 in guideline monthly spousal support for a 24 total monthly support order of $11,003.
Monthly payments shall commence on 8/1/26 and are due 25 and payable by the 1st of every month thereafter. 26 5) Father owes Mother $23,292 in support arrears for the period 2/1/26 – 4/30/26 ($7,764 x 3), plus 27 $7,050.54 in support arrears for the period of 5/1/26 – 5/21/26 ($335.74/day for 21 days), plus 28 $25,555.30 in support arrears for the period of 5/21/26 – 7/31/26 ($3,549.30 for the rest of May + 29 (11,003 x 2) for June and July). This means that Father owes Mother a total of $55,897.84 in
1 support arrears less any support Father already paid during this period. The parties are ordered to 2 meet and confer regarding the payment of arrears to account for and subtract any support Father 3 already paid during this time. 4 6) The XSpouse reports are based on the parties’ respective Income and Expense Declarations 5 (Mother’s filed 5/6/26 and 7/20/26 and Father’s filed 7/20/26) and the following distinctions: 6 a. XSpouse A is based on Mother’s employment and 100% parenting time with Chloe and 7 28% parenting time with Paige. 8 b. XSpouse B is based on Mother’s unemployment and 100% parenting time with Chloe 9 and 28% parenting time with Paige, 10 c. XSpouse C is based on Mother’s 100% parenting time with Chloe and 50% parenting 11 time with Paige. 12 7) The Court will prepare the Findings and Order After Hearing. 13
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26-07-30 XSpouse A devlin v. devlin 794941.xsp
2026 Xspouse 2026-1-CA Monthly Figures Fixed Shares Father Mother Monthly Figures Cash Flow Number of children 1 1 2026 Guideline Proposed Percent time with NCP 0.00% 28.00% Combined net spendable 25552 25920 Filing status HH/MLA SINGLE Percent change 0% 1% GUIDELINE Number of exemptions 3 1 Nets (adjusted) Father Wages and salary 30000 6200 Self employed income 0 0 Father 20868 Payment cost/benefit -7764 -7592 Other taxable income 2562 0 Mother 4683 Net spendable income 13104 13276 TANF CS received 0 0 Total 25551 Change from guideline 0 172 Other nontaxable income 0 0 Support % of combined spendable 51% 51% New spouse income 0 0 % of saving over guideline 0% 47% Addons -299 Employee 401-k contribution 0 0 Total taxes 11665 11745 Guideln CS 4240 Adjustments to income 0 0 Dep. exemption value 0 0 S.Clara SS 3824 SS paid prev marriage 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 Total 7764 CS paid prev marriage 0 0 Net wage paycheck 18469 18469 - Health insurance 29 115 Proposed Mother Other medical expenses 0 0 Payment cost/benefit 7764 7960 Tactic 9 Property tax expenses 1435 0 Net spendable income 12447 12643 CS 3843 Ded interest expense 0 0 Change from guideline 0 196 SS 3669 Contribution deduction 0 0 % of combined spendable 49% 49% Total 7512 Misc tax deductions 0 0 % of saving over guideline 0% 53% Qualified business income Saving 368 0 0 Total taxes 1402 953 deduction Releases -2 Dep. exemption value 0 0 Required union dues 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 Mandatory retirement 0 0 Net wage paycheck 4595 4595 Hardship deduction 0 0 Other GDL deductions 0 0 Child care expenses 750 0
Father pays Guideline CS, Guideline SS, Proposed CS, Proposed Mother pays Addons SS
FC 4055 checking: ON Per Child Information DOB Timeshare cce(F) cce(M) Addons Payor Basic CS Payor Pres CS Payor All children 36 - 64 750 0 299 Mother 4,240 Father 3,940 Father Chloe 0000-00-00 0 - 100 375 0 158 Mother 3,712 Father 3,553 Father Paige 0000-00-00 72 - 28 375 0 141 Mother 528 Father 387 Father
Superior Court of California County of San Francisco
26-07-30 XSpouse B devlin v. devlin 794941.xsp
2026 Xspouse 2026-1-CA Monthly Figures Fixed Shares Father Mother Monthly Figures Cash Flow Number of children 1 1 2026 Guideline Proposed Percent time with NCP 0.00% 28.00% Combined net spendable 20118 20118 Filing status HH/MLA SINGLE Percent change 0% 0% GUIDELINE Number of exemptions 3 1 Nets (adjusted) Father Wages and salary 30000 0 Self employed income 0 0 Father 20868 Payment cost/benefit -10408 -10408 Other taxable income 2562 0 Mother -750 Net spendable income 10461 10461 TANF CS received 0 0 Total 20118 Change from guideline 0 -0 Other nontaxable income 0 0 Support % of combined spendable 52% 52% New spouse income 0 0 % of saving over guideline 0% 0% Addons -231 Employee 401-k contribution 0 0 Total taxes 11665 11665 Guideln CS 5326 Adjustments to income 0 0 Dep. exemption value 0 0 S.Clara SS 5313 SS paid prev marriage 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 Total 10408 CS paid prev marriage 0 0 Net wage paycheck 18469 18469 - Health insurance 29 750 Proposed Mother Other medical expenses 0 0 Payment cost/benefit 10408 10408 Tactic 9 Property tax expenses 1435 0 Net spendable income 9658 9658 CS 5095 Ded interest expense 0 0 Change from guideline 0 0 SS 5313 Contribution deduction 0 0 % of combined spendable 48% 48% Total 10408 Misc tax deductions 0 0 % of saving over guideline 0% 0% Qualified business income Saving 0 0 0 Total taxes 0 0 deduction Releases 0 Dep. exemption value 0 0 Required union dues 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 Mandatory retirement 0 0 Net wage paycheck 0 0 Hardship deduction 0 0 Other GDL deductions 0 0 Child care expenses 750 0
Father pays Guideline CS, Guideline SS, Proposed CS, Proposed Mother pays Addons SS
FC 4055 checking: ON Per Child Information DOB Timeshare cce(F) cce(M) Addons Payor Basic CS Payor Pres CS Payor All children 36 - 64 750 0 231 Mother 5,326 Father 5,095 Father Chloe 0000-00-00 0 - 100 375 0 111 Mother 3,859 Father 3,747 Father Paige 0000-00-00 72 - 28 375 0 120 Mother 1,468 Father 1,348 Father
Superior Court of California County of San Francisco
26-07-30 XSpouse C devlin v. devlin 794941.xsp
2026 Xspouse 2026-1-CA Monthly Figures Fixed Shares Father Mother Monthly Figures Cash Flow Number of children 1 1 2026 Guideline Proposed Percent time with NCP 0.00% 49.00% Combined net spendable 20118 20118 Filing status HH/MLA SINGLE Percent change 0% 0% GUIDELINE Number of exemptions 3 1 Nets (adjusted) Father Wages and salary 30000 0 Self employed income 0 0 Father 20868 Payment cost/benefit -11003 -11003 Other taxable income 2562 0 Mother -750 Net spendable income 9866 9866 TANF CS received 0 0 Total 20118 Change from guideline 0 0 Other nontaxable income 0 0 Support % of combined spendable 49% 49% New spouse income 0 0 % of saving over guideline 0% 0% Addons -251 Employee 401-k contribution 0 0 Total taxes 11665 11665 Guideln CS 5677 Adjustments to income 0 0 Dep. exemption value 0 0 S.Clara SS 5576 SS paid prev marriage 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 Total 11003 CS paid prev marriage 0 0 Net wage paycheck 18469 18469 - Health insurance 29 750 Proposed Mother Other medical expenses 0 0 Payment cost/benefit 11003 11003 Tactic 9 Property tax expenses 1435 0 Net spendable income 10253 10253 CS 5427 Ded interest expense 0 0 Change from guideline 0 0 SS 5576 Contribution deduction 0 0 % of combined spendable 51% 51% Total 11003 Misc tax deductions 0 0 % of saving over guideline 0% 0% Qualified business income Saving 0 0 0 Total taxes 0 0 deduction Releases 0 Dep. exemption value 0 0 Required union dues 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 Mandatory retirement 0 0 Net wage paycheck 0 0 Hardship deduction 0 0 Other GDL deductions 0 0 Child care expenses 750 0
Father pays Guideline CS, Guideline SS, Proposed CS, Proposed Mother pays Addons SS
FC 4055 checking: ON Per Child Information DOB Timeshare cce(F) cce(M) Addons Payor Basic CS Payor Pres CS Payor All children 26 - 75 750 0 251 Mother 5,677 Father 5,427 Father Paige 0000-00-00 51 - 49 375 0 104 Mother 1,934 Father 1,830 Father Chloe 0000-00-00 0 - 100 375 0 147 Mother 3,743 Father 3,596 Father
Superior Court of California County of San Francisco
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