Custody & Kidnapping

In most states, if the father’s paternity has been legally established (through a child support order, signing an affidavit at birth, through marriage, etc.), then the parents are generally considered to have equal rights to the child unless and until a court says otherwise. If one parent is thinking of moving out of state with a child against the other parent’s wishes, often the parent who disagrees with the move may be able to file in court to try to stop the move. It could be that the parent may decide to file for custody, visitation, or some other type of petition in which s/he may be able to ask the judge to order that the child must remain in the state until a final court order is issued. Here is information on custody in your state: LINK including what factors a judge will consider when deciding which parent should get custody: LINK Also, when a parent files for custody, it may be possible to ask the judge to issue an immediate, temporary ex parte order while waiting for the court date - you can talk to a lawyer to see if this may be a possibility in your situation. [CHECK IF WE HAVE INFO ABOUT THIS ON THE CUSTODY PAGE - IF SO, ADD: you can read more about this here: LINK] If the parent has or gets a custody or visitation order over the child and there is some type of fixed schedule, the other parent may have to ask for permission from the judge to relocate or take some other steps required by law (such as notifying the other parent in writing, for example). The judge will consider a lot of factors such when deciding whether or not to allow the move, specifically focusing on whether or not it is in the child’s best interest to move. Here is a link for lawyers in your state if you want to get legal advice or representation about your specific case:LINK