Custody & Kidnapping

In general, once a court has made a custody order over a child, the court is generally involved in changes to that order. If the order is not followed (even if parents agree to change it), it may be possible that either or both parties may technically be in violation of the order. Whether a court ever finds out about the changes and possible violation, however, may depend on whether or not either party brings it to the court’s attention.

In terms of whether or not parents can make an out-of-court change to a custody order, some parents may try to write up a notarized agreement acknowledging the change, new visitation schedule, etc., in the hope that the agreement may try to disprove an alleged violation of the order if the issue is later raised by either parent. You may want to consult with a lawyer to ask whether or not an agreement such as this may have any legal effect or not. For example, I don’t know if this type of writing would have any effect in your state if one parent later accuses the other parent of violating the original custody order. And if the modification involves a parent moving a child out of state, there could be an additional risk of that parent being accused of the crime of custodial interference/parental kidnapping. Specifically, if the left-behind parent shows the police the court order that gives that parent custody, it is not clear if the informal modified order permitting the child to be removed from the state would have any effect on the police deciding whether or not the parent committed a crime by removing the child from the state.

Also, you may want to ask a lawyer how such an out-of-court agreement could be enforced if one party violates it. In other words, in some states, even if the parties agree to change the order and one parent violates the terms of that new agreement, it may not be legally enforceable since it isn’t a court order. Here is a link for lawyers, including free legal organizations, if you want to get advice: LINK

In some states, modifying an order if both parties are in agreement may not be so difficult to do. Although I cannot speak to whether or not this is the case in STATE, in some states, there may be a way to indicate in a court petition to modify an order that it’s a joint filing between the parties and even attach the out-of-court agreement that is being proposed. Perhaps it may be possible to even get it formalized without going to court. In other states, one party may file a petition to modify the custody order and indicate that both parties agree. Once both parties show up in court, they may indicate to the judge that an agreement has been reached and ask to formalize it into an order. Again, I am not sure whether or not this is possible in your state so you may want to either ask a custody attorney or perhaps call the court clerk. S/he may be able to help you find out if there’s a way to attach it to a petition and get it formalized without appearing for a court hearing. Here is a link with courthouse contact info: LINK Also, here is some basic information on custody in STATE: LINK

Again, I cannot tell you what the best course of action for you to take is since we can’t give out any sort of legal advice but I hope you may be able to get some sort of legal opinion from an attorney who regularly deals with custody in your state who may be able to think through the pros and cons of doing this sort of out-of-court, informal order.

[IF WE HAVE A QUESTION ON MODIFYING AN ORDER ON THE STATE’S CUSTODY PAGE, ADD THIS: Lastly, in case you decide to try to modify the order in court, here is a link with some information on modifying a STATE custody order:LINK]