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Custody & Kidnapping

V is pregnant; asks if she moves to father's state, could she then move back with the child

Although I cannot speak to your situation in particular, once a child is born in a state and begins to live there, that state becomes his/her “home state,” which means that it’s the state where the judge would have power over custody decisions regarding the child. In general, once a baby is born in a state, it may be possible that moving out of state with the baby could be difficult if the other parent disagrees. A mother may have to go through court to get permission or may even face allegations of parental kidnapping is s/he moves without court permission, depending on the specific language of the parental kidnapping laws in her state. Here is a link to STATE’s custodial interference law (parental kidnapping) - however, these laws are hard to interpret (and easy to mis-interpret) and so we strongly suggest talking to a lawyer for advice to see when the law would apply in a case between unmarried parents when there is no custody order: LINK

If a parent asks for permission in court to relocate out of state, there are various factors that a judge would consider before deciding whether or not to allow the move and it’s possible that the judge could refuse to allow a parent to move the child out of state. Here is some more information about custody in STATE in case that’s useful: LINK

Someone who is thinking of moving to a state but unsure if s/he wants to remain in that state long-term and wants to have the option to move with his/her child may consider drawing up a legal contract before moving. Parents may be able to come up with a contract in which they think through the possible options for what will happen if they split up and one parent wants to move out of state with the child. If parents agree ahead-of-time to allow one parent to move a certain distance, for example, it may be something that a court would consider if later allegations of custodial interference were raised although I cannot say for sure. If you want to get legal advice about this or about your situation in general, here is a link for lawyers in STATE: LINK

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