Custody & Kidnapping

If one parent has moved with his/her children out of state, the other parent generally can still file in court in the state where the child lived for the past 6 consecutive months in order to seek custody or visitation and to ask that the child be returned to the jurisdiction (state) while the case is pending. Even if the child and parent no longer live in the state where the left-behind parent is, the left-behind parent can still file for 6 months after they have left the state and the other parent may have to return to the state to hear the custody/visitation case. Often, a judge may order that the child remain in the state until the case is resolved, but this may depend on the state’s laws. I cannot speak to what may happen in your state or your specific situation. Here is a link for lawyers in your state if you want to get legal advice or representation about your specific case: LINK and here is a link with information about custody in your state: LINK

When considering whether or not any parental kidnapping/custodial interference laws have been violated, often some factors that may be relevant are if the father’s paternity has been legally established and what the state law says (if anything) about which parent has custody when there is no custody order. Different states view the establishment of paternity differently for these purposes - some states assume that an unmarried mother has custody even if paternity is established until a court says otherwise and some states view the parents as having equal rights once paternity is established. Here is a link to the parental kidnapping law in your state:LINK. However, please know that these type of laws are often hard to interpret (and easy to misinterpret) and so we strongly suggest talking to a lawyer for advice to help think through whether or not the law has been violated.