Custody & Kidnapping

In order to come up with a plan of how to move back to your old state, you may want to consult with a lawyer in both your current state and in your prior state. One of the questions that you may want to ask the lawyer in current state is whether or not by leaving the state, you run the risk of being charged with parental kidnapping or not. We have the parental kidnapping statute on our website here but these types of laws are often hard to interpret and easy to misinterpret so it’s best to talk to a lawyer for specific advice: LINK TO STATUTE ON STATUTES PAGE - FIND IT THROUGH THE CRIMES PAGE PK CRIME AND CLICK ON IT TO GET TO STATUTES PAGE A lawyer, for example, may suggest notifying the local police of your plan in case a report of parental kidnapping is called in - or the lawyer may recommend another course of action, such as filing for custody in your prior state once you arrive (see here for custody information: LINK TO CUSTODY IN PRIOR STATE). Or a lawyer may recommend neither of these and something else instead. Here is a link for lawyers in NEW STATE so you can try to get some advice: LINK

One thing that is important to know about filing for custody in court (if you decide to consider this option) is that in general, the last state where a child has lived with his/her parent for 6 consecutive months is generally considered the child’s “home state” and the state that has jurisdiction (power) over the child for custody matters. Therefore, if either parent wanted to file for custody of the child, s/he may generally have to file in the home state until a new home state is established but there may be exceptions to this general rule. For example, if there was already a prior court case for custody or visitation in another state, that state may keep jurisdiction even once the parties have moved. As I said, if you are thinking of leaving your current state where you have been for less than six months and moving to a new state, you may want to check with an attorney as to where you should file for custody and whether or not it is in your best interests to file at all.

In addition, there is an organization called the Legal Resource Center for Violence Against Women, which specializes in interstate custody matters for victims of abuse (if you were abused). They give out information/advice about interstate custody matters and they can try to help find an attorney in any state to represent someone on an interstate custody matter or to give advice on whether or not a move out of state would violate your state’s parental kidnapping law or not. Their number is 301-270-1550.