Unless ''dad'' has been ordered not to, yes. Dad has joint custody and mom has ''abandoned'' child with someone who does not.

It all depends on the custody arrangements. If you are entitled to visits and the child is being kept at grandma's, you have every right to get your child. Grandma has no custody but you and your ex have joint. I would go to the courts and petition for full custody and state that mom is in another state and your child is with Grandma, and you have every right to bring that child home.

if the mother up and left the child with someone who does not have custody then the father has the right to go get the child. my sons mother had custody of him and she left to go with the carnivell and he was with his grandmother. i went to the court and talked to the judge and he said that sence she left i had the right to go and get my son and that is what i did.

The parties may have joint legal custody with primary physical custody awarded to the mother. There is no indication in this scenario that the child has been abandoned. The mother may have left the child in the grandmother's care temporarily for any number of legitimate reasons. It is common for a parent to place a child with a trusted relative on a temporary basis in order to facilitate a move to another state. Most likely the mother intends for the child to reside with her once she is settled in a new job and home. If the original divorce and custody judgment was entered by a court in Texas and the father continues to reside in Texas, then Texas retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction to modify the custody decree. If the father has substantial grounds to reasonably believe that the child was truly abandoned by her mother, then father may petition the court for an emergency court order authorizing him to take physical custody of the child. In the absence of court authority, the father should NOT travel to Illinois, snatch the child from her grandmother, take her back to Texas, and keep her.

WOW - He should have called is lawyer the moment he found out! And filed an emergency custody motion on the child's behalf with children protective services - Way too many legal issues right here - Main issue I see is if the grandmother is just watching the child until the mom has a place to live - or has she already found a place and is not taking the kids with her. I can't - won't give advise, but I will tell you what I would do...I'd risk going to jail.....I'm sorry, my kids come first... I would have been on a plane already, with decree and joint custody papers in hand - go to the nearest police station and file abandonment charges against her, and ask them to go with me to get my child. If they refuse, I would call children services - if still no help - well - I'll get 3 squares a day and a roof over my head - but my child would know I cared and loved him/her enough to risk it all.... I wish him my best, and hope all works out for his kid - please have him post an update -

Yes and no. He should file an emergency motion for temporary change of custody based on abandonment by the mother. He will likely need evidence. He can legally tape any conversations he has with the mother, without her knowing. He can only record calls he initiates to the grandmother, not calls from her. http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ Once he has the order, he takes it to the Clerk of the Court in the county where the grandmother resides and register it. Than, taking the police with him as peace keepers, he goes to pick up the child. In this manner there's no question about him taking the child. If he just takes the child, he could still be arrested, the child returned to the grandmother or mother, who than has time to file a restraining order. That happened to a Texas father who came here to pick up the child. He eventually got the child, but it took him staying here two weeks and costing $5000 in legal fees. A father tried it in Clay County Missouri. A missing child alert was put out and the FBI picked him up on the way home to Alabama. He had custody, but he didn't register it in Clay County before retrieving the child. The child was returned to the mother, a restraining order was issued, and he never did get the child. And people think Brazil is bad. Contact the Texas Fathers For Equal Rights in Dallas, Houston, or Fort Worth. The order will only be temporary pending a full court hearing which he will need to prep for. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I’ve been a Father’s Rights Advocate for 20 years. Many think the courts are rigged against dads, but in reality, it is more about attorneys unwilling or lacking the knowledge to truly fight for the father's rights. This is why it is important to learn how to interview and hire the right attorney. It is also important to do as much as possible on your own and not pay the attorney to do it. Part of the problem with getting your rights knowing what to do to prove your case, and how to remind the judge of their responsibilities. Let me start with the judge. Always take people with you to court who are not there to testify. Make sure they are sitting where the judge can see them, each equipped with a tablet and pen to take notes. It’s best to use a Court Watch Form designed for this purpose. I have one in the manual at Dads House. If the judge is not doing his job, using the info from this form, you can, appeal, and/or get the judge sanctioned and removed from the case. You file a complaint with the State Supreme Court at your state capital. Start keeping a daily journal of all your activities. The most common way to prevent a father from getting his rights through the courts is a false allegation, usually sexual. Over 60% of divorcing father are accused of child sexual abuse, of which only 4% are found to have any relevance, but there are no penalties for doing so. A daily journal is your number one piece of evidence in court and you can even refer to it while on the stand. Gather evidence. Check the site below to see if it is illegal to record conversations without the other person knowing. If your state does not have a law either way, than it defaults to the federal ruling which says one person in a conversation must know they are being recorded. You’re that one person. In Missouri it is specifically legal, in Kansas there is no mention either way. If you live in two different states, and one has a law against it, than it applies when the call originates from within that state, Now, you can't just record, you also have to transcribe it into the daily journal. If you want to learn how to do all this go to Dads House in Yahoo Groups. Upon joining, you will receive a link for downloading a 200 page educational manual that can teach you what you need to know. Take the time to learn what you can and should do. Bird Nest Custody http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GiveKidsAChoice/ Can We Tape http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ Dads House http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DadsHouse/ Fathers & Families http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/ THE FATHERLESS GENERATION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZmMffsIl9M Fathers Rights: The Movie http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=27395259 Parental Alienation Syndrome http://www.parentalalienation.org/

Take it to court. Basically you have a court order that says the child lives with mommy and if you take the child at a time other then when you may have court ordered visitation then you are in violation of the court order. It doesn't matter if she entrusts another with the care of the child that by itself does not constitute abandonment. Think of grandma as free daycare for the child. It is no different than leaving the child with a babysitter or at a daycare. You can not call that abandonment. If she said, "'F' it, mom, I can't take it you keep the kid. I don't want it anymore." Then you have a case for custody, but her leaving the child with a relative on what may or may not be a temporary basis does not give you the right to just take the child when a court order dictates guardianship and visitation in the child's best interest. I don't know the specifics of your court proceedings and the resulting custody agreement, so forgive me I am going on the presumption that there is court ordered visitation and the child was placed primarily in the mother's care.