Custody & Kidnapping

Although I cannot speak to how your state handles this, in general, parents who are married have equal rights to the children (and for unmarried couples, if a father’s paternity has been legally established, depending on the state’s law, both parents may too have equal custodial rights). If one parent tried to give legal custody of a child to a non-parent, the other parent may be able to object to this in court, file for custody, etc. Parents generally have the first right to custody over other family members, so if a non-parent were to try to file for custody in court, s/he may have to prove that the parent who is objecting to the custody is unfit to care for the child. Again, I cannot speak to your specific state or your particular situation so you may need to talk to an attorney to find out what the process may be in your state if this situation were to happen.

If the other parent tried to do give another person custody, for example, by leaving the child with another relative and signing over “permission” or “legal guardianship,” you may want to ask an attorney whether you can get the police involved or whether you’d have to go to court, etc. If you have to go to court, you may want to ask an attorney whether or not you may be able to get an immediate temporary custody order due to the child being in the care of a non-parent without your permission. Again, I can’t say whether this is an option or not.

Custody can be a complicated issue and I would suggest talking to a lawyer in STATE so that you can learn more about the specific laws for your state. This person can help you prepare or even represent you in court, should you go to court. Here is a link for lawyers in STATE : LINK

And, if you’d like to read more about custody, see the following link:LINK