Custody & Kidnapping

Whether or not one parent can leave the state with his/her children is a complicated legal question and we strongly suggest you talk to a lawyer in OLD STATE to find out whether or not you may be at risk of violating any laws by having left. In general, if people are legally married, most states consider the parents to have equal rights to the child so that either parent may be able to have the child in his/her possession. However, many states also have parental kidnapping/custodial interference laws that apply to married couples as well as unmarried couples that may prohibit certain behaviors (such as concealing the whereabouts of the child, for example). Since I cannot provide legal advice, I cannot tell you what your state’s law says about this and how it may or may not apply to your situation - you would have to ask a lawyer about this. You may want to ask an attorney if based on the law, your behavior may possibly be illegal under your state’s parental kidnapping laws. An attorney can hopefully advise you as to what steps to take, and whether or not you should file for custody. Here is a link for free and paid lawyers: LINK

Here is a bit more information about filing for custody, in general, if you decide to explore that option of filing for custody. In general, custody is filed for in the child’s home state (generally, where the child has lived for the past 6 consecutive months but there are exceptions). Under certain circumstances, when filing for custody, a parent may be able to ask for immediate temporary custody while the case is pending and while awaiting the return court date. In some states, temporary immediate custody may only be granted if the child is in danger with the other parent but other states may have other standards. You may want to ask a lawyer what the legal standard is in your state and whether you’d have to prove the child was in danger or not if you decide to try to file for immediate temporary custody. Here is a link that explains custody in OLD STATE so you can have some info on it: LINK Here is some info about custody in NEW STATE (if a lawyer says that you may qualify to file for temporary custody in NEW STATE):LINK

If the parent filing for custody was being abused, s/he may also decide to apply for a protection order, which may possibly allow for temporary custody. Here is more information on protection orders in OLD STATE and NEW STATE so you can see if you may qualify and whether your state allows a protection order to include temporary custody of a child:LINK AND LINK