Marriage of Paulsen

Filed 5/16/06  Marriage of Paulsen CA3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b).  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT

(Calaveras)

----

     In this marital dissolution case a name change and the teenage children's reluctance to see their father sparked a dispute resulting in this appeal.  Father Jason L. Paulsen brought an order to show cause, requesting modification of child support, visitation, and commencement of counseling.

     Following a series of hearings, the trial court declined to force Paulsen's children to attend reunification counseling with him.  Instead, the trial court ordered supervised visitation be made available to the children, but refused to order the children to participate.  Paulsen appeals, contending:  the court exceeded its jurisdiction in allowing the children to change their name, the court erred in suspending his rights to visitation, the court's refusal to grant a hearing constitutes reversible error, and California's statutory support scheme is unconstitutional.  We shall affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

     Mother Adrianna Ramorini-Self filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in December 1996.  Paulsen and Ramorini-Self had been married for four years eight months and had two minor children, Theodore, then age six, and Meghan, then age four.  The court entered a judgment of dissolution, providing for joint custody of the children, with primary physical custody to Ramorini-Self.  The court granted Paulsen reasonable rights of visitation, as agreed to between the parties.  Paulsen was ordered to pay child support of $200 per month.

     In 2000 Ramorini-Self obtained a protective order prohibiting Paulsen from contacting, molesting, harassing, striking, or telephoning Ramorini-Self, her new husband, and the children.  The order also granted legal and physical custody of both minor children to Ramorini-Self with no rights of visitation to Paulsen.  In her declaration in support of the application for protective order, Ramorini-Self stated:  â€