Custody & Kidnapping

Does your custody order have specific dates for visitation with the father that are spelled out? Or does the order have more general language about the parents agreeing on visitation? Although I cannot speak to your specific situation, often times if custody orders do not have specific dates for visits with the non-custodial parent, it may be up to the parents to agree on the terms of the visits. If the parents cannot agree, one parent may decide to return to court to try to ask the judge to set specific dates and times for visits or to amend the order in some other way to allow for more shared time (sometimes, the judge may order more than the custodial parent wanted or sometimes it may be less than what the non-custodial parent wanted; it’s hard to predict how a judge will rule). In cases where there is a specific schedule in place but then one parent moves, which would substantially change the terms of the visits, sometimes this is another situation where a parent will go back to court to try to renegotiate the visitation based on the new location of the parent who has moved. Again, although I cannot speak to your situation in particular, it is not uncommon that a child flies to see a parent for visits if the parents do not live within driving distance. Often times, the judge may divide the cost of the flight between the parents or may order each parent to bring the child one way on the plane. If you are hoping that the judge would order the father to visit the child only in CHILD’S STATE and not allow the child to go on a plane to PARENT’S STATE, you may want to talk to a lawyer in CHILD’S STATE to see what the chances are that this would happen. A local lawyer who litigates these issues in CHILD’S STATE may have a sense of how judges normally rule in these cases and may be able to give you advice as to whether or not it would be in your best interests to return to court or not.

Here is a link for lawyers, some of which are free or low-cost if you qualify:LINK And here is a link with some information about custody in CHILD’S STATE in case that is useful:LINK