My fiance's ex is threatening to take the kids out of state when school lets out for the summer. She says she can do it without his permission. Is that true?
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A goober
ANSWERS: 9
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It depends what is stated in the court papers regarding the children. If nothing was put in the papers then he had better get a hold of a lawyer to get back to court to have it taken care of.
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That depends on who has custody of the children.
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Yes, people do it all the time. It depends on what the custody agreement says. He needs to get in touch with his lawyer right away to protect his rights. www.Legal-Definitions.com
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My ex defaulted on some alimony & child support, so I couldn't afford to stay in SC with my part-time job. I proved it in court that he was lying about his income. So I got a good job in Virginia. I was primary custodian. There was nothing in the Divorce Decree that said I could not move with the children. The children, then 14 and 6, wanted to come with me. They told their lawyer so. I was going to give my ex more summer visitation to make up for lost time during the school year. In the end I lost all custody of my children March 2007 for trying to leave the state. My children are still devastated. We get through the days with emails, phone calls, cards, and visits. They WILL grow up, and then they can live where they want.
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It would depend on the state and what the custody order says, but generally, especially in 50/50 arrangement of physical and legal custody, one parent can't just "take the kids out of state" - i.e. out of reach of the other parent - without a court order/permission/approval. Make sure your fiance consults with an attorney.
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This depends upon who is the custodial parent and for how long they are going. There is nothing that requires one parent to live in a certain area indefinitely for the convenience of the other parent.
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This would depend on the terms of the custody agreement. If the couple was married, custody agreement is part of the divorce agreement. If not, it might be a separate agreement but should be in writing. If he never got a copy, he should go to the family court in your area and get one. He can also file to have his child support temporarily lowered based upon not being able to have visitation for x number of months. But, he should think it over before he does this because if the summer plans are decent ones (for example, at a good camp or with a grandparent) he might be hurting the kids by making a fuss. It might be better to instead negotiate ways of keeping in touch such as frequent calls or e-mails so that he can keep up on what the kids are doing. If he works and cannot do a lot with them in the summer, her plans might be OK. If he gets vacation, though, and you are both prepared to do something nice with them, she should allow that for a week or two, especially if he pays support on time.
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Go to the police, get a restraning order!
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You have to read YOUR court order. No one can answer this without doing so. Your court order will state whether your child can not be taken out of state or even out of the country. If it does not state that your children can not be taken out of the state, she can do so. Don't sweat it. States and countries that she can take them to without a passport (which does require the signature of both parents) are all working with your state to follow the court order that's in place. As far as removing them without returning them for any parenting time, your fiance will have to wait until she actually does so to take any court action. What he can do that would be pro-active is to have his attorney write a letter to her or her attorney stating that your fiance is expecting the children on his regular visitation dates throughout the summer and what will occur should the children not be available to him for those dates.
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