Custody & Kidnapping

Although I cannot speak to your specific situation, it is not uncommon for parents living in different states to have joint legal custody (decision-making) since joint legal custody generally deals with major decisions that affect that child’s health, schooling, and religious training. These decisions generally can be discussed over the phone between parents and a decision can be reached, which can occur when parents live near each other or far from each other. For the day-to-day decisions that a parent must make when the child is in that parent’s care daily, these often are made by the parent with whom the child is physically living - and wouldn’t necessarily have anything to do with if the parent has joint or sole legal custody. You can read about what factors go into a judge deciding whether or not to give joint decision-making here: LINK TO ANY QU ABOUT JOINT CUSTODY AND THE ONE ABOUT THE FACTORS A JUDGE CONSIDERS IN CUSTODY

With all of that being said, I cannot speak to what is commonly done in STATE or in your county, specifically. You may want to consult with a lawyer to see what the chances may be of getting joint legal custody where the custodial parent and child are living in another state. Here is a link for lawyers, some of which may be free or low-cost if you qualify: LINK