My husband and I have custody of my daughter from a previous relationship. The biological father has not seen her for 2 and a half years and has never contacted me wanting to see her. We are in the Army and will be getting out around this time next year and I am wondering if it is illegal to take her out of the state? He has no visitation or rights to her, he was paying child support but I have canceled due to his lack of seriousness and me getting tired of taking trips downtown to fight him for it. I need to know if he has any rights to whether or not he knows where she lives?? Thank you!
2007-09-25 05:29:01 · 11 answers · asked by Janessa 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
By the way, she is 3 years and 8 months old, so he hasn't seen her since she was 15 months.
2007-09-25 05:31:48 · update #1
I told them to stop pursuing because I do not want his money - he is 25 with no job and lives in his parents basement now. He can never pay and he never gets in trouble so, frankly, I am sick of trying to get him to pay. This is in Kentucky.
2007-09-25 05:36:35 · update #2
ANYONE WHO HAS ANSWERED PLEASE READ THIS:
#1 WE WERE NEVER MARRIED
#2 I DID CANCEL IT - AT THE COURTHOUSE YESTERDAY MYSELF AND HER BIO FATHER MET WITH A WOMAN FROM THE CHILD SUPPORT OFFICE AND ASKED ME SINCE HE DOES NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND I DO NOT WANT HIS MONEY IF I WANTED TO HAVE THEM CANCEL ALL ARREARS OWED AND CANCEL SERVICES WITH THEM ANY FURTHER. I SAID YES AND SIGNED A DOCUMENT THAT STATED,""" I (MY NAME) WISH FOR THE CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES TO STOP ANY FURTHER ACTION AGAINST MR. (HIM) AND DO NOT WISH TO COLLECT ANYMORE CHILD SUPPORT MONEY.""""
I HAVE ASKED HIM IF WE WILL SIGN HIS RIGHTS AWAY AND LET MY HUSBAND ADOPT BUT HE WILL NOT DO IT. MY HUSBAND WANTS TO ADOPT HER. HE HAS RAISED HER SINCE 18 MONTHS OF AGE. MY EX DOES NOT ASK TO SEE HER EITHER. HE HAS MADE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR HE WILL NOT GIVE UP HIS RIGHTS BUT HE DOESNT WANT TO SEE HER EITHER. HE DOES THESE THINGS TO MAKE ME ANGRY - NOTHING MORE.
PLEASE EDIT YOUR ANSWER IF THIS HELPS EXPLAIN THINGS BETTER. THANK YOU.
2007-09-25 07:22:45 · update #3
ALSO - WE HAVE NEVER SEEN A JUDGE. WEVE NEVER HAD A HEARING OF ANY KIND. ITS NEVER GOTTEN THAT FAR. HES NEVER TRIED TO SEE HER THROUGH ME, OR THE COURTS. HE WOULD HAVE TO HIRE SOMEONE OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET WHICH HE CANT AFFORD TO DO BECAUSE HE DOESNT HAVE A JOB - HE CANT PAY HIS CHILD SUPPORT SO HE CANT PAY AN ATTORNEY. THERE ARE NO PAPERS THAT GIVE HIM VISITATION BECAUSE HE DOESNT WANT THEM! BUT I FEEL HE WOULD TRY TO PREVENT ME FROM MOVING OUT OF STATE AT ANY COST JUST TO MAKE ME ANGRY - SAME REASON WHY HE WONT SIGN HIS RIGHTS OVER.
2007-09-25 07:26:27 · update #4
If your husband adopted her as his own then he does have legal custody, therefore cancelling the child support payments from her biological dad. If he hasn't adopted her, only you have custody of her, not your husband, too.
Since there isno tie to her biological father it's fine to take her out of state. At least that's how it is in Ohio!
2007-09-25 07:07:45 · answer #1 · answered by sKa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first thing you need to explain is this statement: "he was paying child support but I have canceled ..."
Did the COURT cancel the support or did you just stop pursuing it?
and in what state is the custody order established?
EDITED BASED ON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Then child support has NOT been stopped. It will continue to amass arrears owed. That's far different than stopping the collection efforts.
On the second part of your situation, if he is paying support (or ordered to pay support) then the ONLY solution to your delemina is to file a petition to terminate his parental rights.
Just because he doesn't have custody or visitation doesn't mean he doesn't have parental rights.
What I would suggest is when your current husband is ready to adopt, you file the petition for adoption jointly with the termination of parental rights and a motion to set aside support arrears and any future claim to support.
Serve him the papers and see what happens.
EDITED FURTHER:
As I said, child support enforcement is an agency of the State. They collect support, they do not set it. That is ONLY the job of the court.
Therefore, before CSE can collect, there must be a child support order in place.
You need to find out specifically if there is an order in place and if so, how was it issued. I would hazzard to guess it was a default order based on a finding of paternity.
If so, then the court order still stands.
Regardless, your child has a legal father and that will require you to file a Termination of Parental Rights action against him.
You made a BIG mistake signing that document. DO NOT sign anything else unless it comes from the judge.
2007-09-25 05:32:42 · answer #2 · answered by hexeliebe 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Go through Childrens Services. How did you "cancel" Child Support? If not through the courts, it is still in force. You really need an attorney as far as taking the child out of State. Too many variances from State to State on this law.
2007-09-25 05:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but you don't have the ability to cancel a child support order on your own. You can file a motion to raise it, lower it, or suspend it, but a judge has to grant it for it to be official. Therefore, the amount of his arrearage is adding up weekly. He probably owes you a bunch and can't file bankruptcy on that debt. Now, on to your question. You are the custodial parent. Unless your custody papers, and these would be the ones that set his visitation times, support, etc, say that you cannot take her out of state, of course you can take her with you. Given his complete lack of any type of responsiblity with respect to her, no judge in his or her right mind would prevent you, if you did have to get the order changed.
2007-09-25 05:48:59 · answer #4 · answered by working mom of 3 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the language in your divorce decree very well, and if it does not answer this question, contact the lawyer who did it to ask him or her. It's highly unlikely you are bound to keep her in the same state, especially since he has no visitation at all, but it's best to make sure. The original court usually retains jurisdiction for the purposes of resolving future issues, like him not paying support, or you denying him visitation, but in your case, that's not even an issue, so I can't see why moving would be a problem.
2007-09-25 05:39:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact a Family Law attorney in your area. There are different laws for every state...he/she will know the laws that pertain to you. They will normally give you a free phone consultation.
2007-09-25 05:35:59 · answer #6 · answered by saved_by_grace 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Websites like FindLaw, LawGuru are some of the free legal advice resources available. More information at http://www.uelp.org/freelegal.html
2007-09-30 02:05:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He may only be on the mortgage which would be bad news. He has to find out if he is on the deed. He has to find out if they are on the deed and/or the mortgage. The deed you can find out about at the town/city registry of deed. Many are online now. The mortgage he can find out by looking at the bills, whose name(s) do the bills come to? He should be very nice to them right now especially if they are the only ones on the deed and he is the only one on the mortgage. If he is the only one on both, they are going to have to be nice or find new digs irregardless as to whether they have been paying bills. If both are on the deed if it comes to court it will likely be probate court for a partitioning of property. If both are on the mortgage, that would be a great relief, but still a bother likely requiring a lawyer.
2016-05-18 01:53:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try the site below and watch the movie clip. This covers your entire family and gets you access to a TOP Law Firm in your State. Hope this helps.
2007-09-25 07:26:54 · answer #9 · answered by citronge 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Law will vary from state to state; you don't need legal advice, you need an appointment to talk with CHildren's services.
2007-09-25 05:32:06 · answer #10 · answered by wizjp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋