What types of custody are there?
A custody order generally addresses physical and legal custody. Physical custody is who the child will live with on a day-to-day basis.1 Legal custody is not specifically defined by CNMI law, although it is referred to in the statutes as well as in caselaw.2 In general, “legal custody” refers to the right to make important decisions about your child. This usually includes decisions about things like where your child goes to school, what kind of health care s/he receives, and what kind of religious training s/he gets.
1 8 CMC § 1603(i)
2 See 8 CMC § 1931; see also Villagomez v. Villagomez, Civil No. 99-0004 (NMI Super. Ct. May 23, 2001)
What is paternity?
Paternity is legal fatherhood. Once it is established, it brings with it the rights, privileges, duties, and obligations of being a parent. If you and the other the parent weren’t married when your child was born, paternity may need to be established before or during a child support, custody, or visitation case.1
1 See 8 CMC §§ 1701; 1706
What is a power of attorney?
A power of attorney (“POA”) is a document that allows a third party to make important decisions on someone else’s behalf. The third party might be called the “attorney-in-fact” or the “agent.” If someone else is taking care of your child temporarily, you might choose to grant that person a POA so that s/he can make decisions for your child while your child is living with him/her.
However, a POA is not a court order. It does not actually give the agent any legal form of custody – only a judge can do that.
Do I need a custody order to file for child support?
Some people think they need to file for custody so they can get child support, but this is not necessarily true. A custody order will not automatically give you child support, and you may not need a custody order to file for child support. For information on filing for child support, you can contact the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Enforcement Division or talk to a lawyer.
Can I get custody as part of an order of protection?
You can ask for temporary custody when you file for an order of protection.1 At the hearing, the judge will decide whether or not to grant it. The judge can determine visitation at the hearing too. Temporary custody will last as long as the order of protection is in effect, which is usually up to one year.1
1 8 CMC § 1916(b)(7), (c)(1), (c)(2)
Should I start a court case to ask for supervised visitation?
If you’re worried about leaving your child alone with the abuser, you might think about asking a judge to order supervised visits. If you are already in court because the abuser filed a case, it might be worth asking for supervised visits if you have a good reason. It depends on your situation.
However, if there is no court case going on now, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer before you start a case to ask for supervised visits. Based on what is happening in your case, a custody lawyer can explain:
- what you need to prove to get supervised visits; and
- how long they might last.
Usually, supervised visits are only ordered for a short time. However, this may be different depending on where you live and who your judge is. The judge might ask a relative or another person known to either parent to be the supervisor. If the supervisor doesn’t report any big problems back to the judge, the visits might become unsupervised. At the end of a case, the other parent might get more frequent and longer visits than s/he had before you went into court. The other parent might even get some form of custody.
If your child is in immediate danger from the abuser, you may need to start a case to ask for custody and supervised visits to protect your child. To find out what is best for your situation, you can look for legal advice using our CNMI Finding a Lawyer page.