My kids' mother abruptly moved to another state six months leaving the girls with me. I know she lives in Nevada, but she never gave me an address. What would happen if I filed for sole custody of the girls and the courts (in VA) were unable to find her prior to the hearing?
2007-09-21 03:50:31 · 21 answers · asked by Neosamurai 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Marriage & Divorce
you would get custody, I believe... by the way, go for child support too! =)
2007-09-21 03:54:35 · answer #1 · answered by elvlayarvvi fEisty wife and mom 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Neo my friend, the same exact thing happened to my little girl and I. Her mother simply woke-up one day and said that there was someone else, and moved down to Florida. I heard nothing from her for about 10 months, and in those 10 months I had filed for sole custody. I asked a couple of her family members if they knew where to reach her, and they did not even know. She obviously didn't make it to the hearings so the judge granted custody to me. I tried, she was the one who made that desicion,I do not hate her, but my little snot-face is A # 1. It is better for the child to have "a legal gaurdian" in the eyes of so many people, the state being the most important. I live in Pa., but I'm sure Va. is close to the same. Hope it was a help.
2007-09-21 04:16:11 · answer #2 · answered by daddyoit 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In all likelihood you would ultimately get custody, but custody always is subject to change and is dependent on the best interests of the children. However, abandonment is taken very seriously. I am not aware of the laws in Virginia, however, when you go to Court I am sure that you have to provide an address for your wife so she can be served with the court papers and so she gets notice and "due process". If you cannot find her address, by contacting family and friends, then you probably have to go to Court to get some kind of an Order that says you can serve her with the papers by alternate means. Publication in a newspaper in Nevada may be an alternate means. You could try and locate her through a private investigator, through her driver's license, or through her applications for credit. You could try something on line, like "people find". However, I am pretty sure that the laws of Va. require that she get some kind of notice of the proceedings . You should also ask for child support. If she does not appear, you can try and establish how much your wife earns (that determines how much she pays) by the amount of money she spends, how she lives, or how much she earned in the past or presently. That is why you should find out where she lives. Good Luck! You should obtain a Va. lawyer or go to the pro se office or Office of the Self - Represented in Courthouse in your locality in Virginia to obtain information, if you do not retain counsel
2007-09-21 04:10:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call the Virginia Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-552-7977. They will give you the number of a lawyer in your area who has agreed to provide initial consultations to people at a reduced rate. You can also look in the phone book, a lot of lawyers offer free consultations.
You may be required to run an ad in the city's newspaper which you believe the mother is living, notifying her of your intent to seek full custody. Or if you can show the court that she has not had any contact with the children, then you may be awarded custody based on the fact that she abandoned the children.
You should seek legal counsel on this matter.
2007-09-21 04:08:37 · answer #4 · answered by junebug 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
then it is her loss. She ABANDONED those kids, and if u can't/ or the courts can't find her, then she doesn't watn them anyways. Sounds like she didn't wnat them anyway, so now u have to be both parnets. Good luck, sweeti, cause u will have them both to love, and they will need to know why mommy left them. It is not up to U to find her. Do u want sole custody of them?? If so, then she did u a favor, by leaving. It'll make it easier on you in the long run, to gain sole custody. Sounds like u are better off without her anyways. Like I said, good lucksweeit. If she is not here by the time it goes to court, then she will lose out in the custody hearings. Use this against her and take her for all u can. Those kids need support and it takes two to financially do so.
2007-09-21 03:56:56 · answer #5 · answered by Dragonflygirl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes, ( and I am not saying he can't handle it) but the mother is the best person a child should be with. Now, if she is bi - polar meaning unstable, he could definitely use this against her if she could possibly do harm to the children. As far as a lawyer, I was on the other side of those tracks, not for custody, but for support, and I could not afford a lawyer, although I was going up against a good one. I had to get my confidence up, and represent myself, and you know what, I found out that when you have a lawyer, that is who talks, you don't, but when you represent you, the judge has no choice but to listen to you, and not some big shot attorney who can only tell half of the story. Only you, can represent you, and hopefully they can come to a conclusion where the children are with the mother ( if she is not violent) and he can have visitation every weekend.
2016-05-20 00:46:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's called abandonment! And if she doesn't show up to the court hearing, you will have sole custody! A friend of mine's wife did the same thing.....took off to Arizona and left him with their 6 year old son. He did not file abandonment, though, and wishes that he would have. The wife (now ex-wife) did return back to Alabama 6 months later and tried to fight for her 'rights'....lol She now has visitation every other weekend and has to pay child support!
2007-09-21 03:59:43 · answer #7 · answered by dragonfly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The court will try to track down, and notify the other parent. If the parent is still a no show, you will be given sole custody.... which basically means you make all of the decisions for your children... This however, does not mean that if "Mom" suddenly decides to reappear that she will not be given the "right" to disrupt the children's lives by insisting on visitation. (Sad but true). "Mom" will still have parental rights.
God bless!
2007-09-21 04:01:25 · answer #8 · answered by Mel W 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live in ohio, and here if I know sorta where she lives, they would post a memo in the area newspaper in the legal sections and she would have to find it to appear. Without that, the procedeings go ahead and just because she is not there, does not mean you would win. The state would have someone to represent her. Don't know if states have different laws, but my ex moved out of state and I was going to do that and that is what my attorney said, but she ended up finding out because the courts had her address on file when she moved.
2007-09-21 03:56:45 · answer #9 · answered by kevinitisii 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She defaults and you get sole custody. But you must show that you tried to find her to have her served. Ask the courts how you would have to do so. It is usually a leagal notice in the paper where she lived last.
2007-09-21 04:22:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try conntacting her family. Tell them that you are planning to file for full sole custody of the girls, they should know how to get in contact with her to let her know. If not then the courts will tell you to put ads in three Nevada papers to let her know your plans.
2007-09-21 03:55:31 · answer #11 · answered by Leah M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋