Child Custody Legal Questions

Dear Ms. Monroe: Sorry you are in this situation.  You do not specify whether there has been a prior court case or not, or whether paternity has ever been established, so this answer assumes paternity has never been previously established. The father has a right to file in the county where you live or he lives.  However, you can file to change the "venue" of the case to your county on the grounds that it is inconvenient to have the case in Palm Beach.  This may be particulary true if the child (until the father took her) always resided with you in the Ft. Myers area. If, as you state, there is a case filed, you should immediately file a motion in the court to have your child returned to you, especially if the father never established paternity, stating, as you have in your inquiry, that the child always lived with you and that the father will not tell you of the child's whereabouts. Custody (what we now call "timesharing") in Florida is a complicated issue, and very fact specific.  The court starts with the premise that each parent should have 50 percent of the time with a child, and the party who objects to this must prove why the other parent should not have this timesharing arrangement. (drunk driving, better for the child to live in Ft. Myers, he would likely not honor a timesharing schedule, etc.) and whatever else may be relevant. It may help you if you seek, at a minimum, a consultation with a knowledgeabel family law attorney.  These cases are difficult and more difficult to navagate alone. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Family Law Office of Cindy S. Vova Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-962-2785   ... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous:    Florida law changed in July, 2023 as to timehsaring between parents.  There is now a presumption that BOTH parents are entitled to 50/50 timesharing, subject to a number of factors that could persuade the court to give one parent less than 50/50 timesharing.  However, the burden of proving that a parent should not have 50/50 time with children is on the parent who is objecting to this arrangement.  In your fiance's situation, he certainly does not have to accept the child's mother's proposition for timesharing, and he can go to court and, subject to the child's mother proving otherwise, get the 50/50 timesharing he desires.   As to the alternating week schedule, that is a possibility.  Another common schedule is where the parents split the week, with one parent having Mondays and Tuesdays and the other parent having Wednesdays and Thursdays and the parties rotating the weekends from Fridays (usually after school or child care) until Monday mornings.  The Court will look at what is best for the child, including, if applicable, a parent's work schedule.  So since your finace wants 50 percent of the time with his child, then he should pursue that because the law is on his side. Best of luck. Cindy S. Vova Law Offices  of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.  Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-962-2785          ... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous: The short answer is no, you do not have to voluntarily consent to change your child's last name.  If the father files an action to establish paternity, (and you do not state whether this has ever been done previously) he can, at that time, request that the child's name be changed.  However, absent an agreement between the parties, if the Court permitted the name change it would be a hyphenated version, with both party's names included, and in alphabetical order. So, for example, if your last name was Jones and the father's last name was Smith, then the birth certificate would be amended to be "Jones-Smith."  Since he has been out of your child life for so long, it is questionable whether he would actuallyspend the time and money to go through the legal process for a name change, particularly since it would also, subject him to paying child support...if he is not already. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-962-2785    ... Read Answer

This service does not allow me to edit my reply to your response so I am just going to deal with it as if I was answering your question for the first time. What kind of name change forms are you talking about? Are you talking about the ones that are done through the court or are you talking about the ones to change your child's name through the Fl Department of Vital Statistics? If the former is the case, I have to look into this further and get back with you. Please respond to lawofficelbasagoitia@gmail.com Otherwise, I may not see your reply because as I said this service does not let me know when there is a reply. Thank you.... Read Answer

In order to file for divorce in Texas, at the time that you file, either you or your spouse must've been living in Texas for at least six months and in the county that you're filing in for at least 90 days. So, you have the following options assuming you have been living in Texas for at least six months: you can file in the county that you just relocated from, if you had been living in that county for 90 days; or, you can file in the county that your husband has been living in if he has been there for for at least 90 days ; or, you can wait until you have been living in the county that you now reside in for 90 days. ... Read Answer

You can serve your ex with a request for production of documents or serve the bank with a subpoena for your ex-'s bank records.  With respect to the felony conviction, such records are public records which you can obtain directly from the clerk of the court where your ex was convicted.  Since you intent to offer them as evidence, you will want to ask for certified copies.I note that to show a pattern, you will want a continuous sequence of evidence regularly occurring throughout the 20 years.  Usually, a 20-year old conviction standing alone is too remote in time to be relevant.  If you have competent evidence of multiple other convictions over that period of time for the same or substantially identical behavior, you may be able to persuasively argue against his lawyer's objection to your request for the documents concerning the 20-year old conviction.  ... Read Answer

I see that you are in Wisconsin. As an Annapolis child custody lawyer, my area of practice is confined to Maryland law. But, nevertheless, I can provide some general insights into your situation. Typically, the legal rights and responsibilities of a biological father can vary from state to state, but generally speaking, a biological father has certain constitutional rights to be involved in his child's life. This usually includes the right to seek visitation or even custody. However, these rights are balanced against the best interests of the child. If a court finds that a parent is unfit due to issues such as criminal activity, substance abuse, or other factors that may put the child's well-being at risk, they can limit or even terminate those rights. Regarding your thoughts on moving out of state, again, laws vary, but it's generally allowed for a pregnant woman to move and live wherever she wishes. Once the child is born, however, issues of custody and parental rights can become more complex, especially if the other parent wishes to be involved and you wish to limit their involvement. In your situation, it would be highly advisable to consult with a family law attorney in Wisconsin to understand the specific legal implications of your decisions. They can guide you on the best way to protect your interests and those of your unborn child under Wisconsin law. This is an important and potentially complex situation, so having professional legal advice is crucial. Remember, the information I provided is based on general principles and may not fully reflect the laws in your state.... Read Answer

You haven't provided enough information to determine whether you would be considered as a guardian for your grandchildren in the event they were removed from their home for any reason.  If you believe there is neglect, abuse, or that the children are being subjected to unsafe conditions, you can report that to childrens' services. You also have the option to petition the court for custody if you believe the children are not safe with their guardians.  Assuming that a court has ordered the visits you currently have with your grandchildren, and that arrangement is working in the child's best interests, that would certainly be a factor for the court to consider when making any custody determination, although many other factors will be considered as well. ... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous:   Since the other parent has not responded, under Florida Statute 61.13001, there is a presumption that relocation is in your child's best interest.  This also presumes that you followed all the prerequisites in serving the other parent and, if applicable, anyone else who may have legal rights to timesharing with the child,  as required by Florida statute, and filed the return of service. However, you are correct  that you have to take steps to bring this to the Court's attention to obtain the Order permitting you to relocate. There is no specific form for you to file, but your proposed Motion seems appropriately titled.  Be sure to include in your motion that the other side was properly served and failed to respond. Once you file the motion you will need to read the Judge's specific procedures on how to set a hearing on the matter.  Some counties have help desks that you can call if the procedures are not clear.  You should probably only need 10 to 15 minutes for your hearing.  Looks like you are headed in the right direction to allow your move! Best of luck. Cindy S. Vova Family Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward-Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Palm Beach: 561-962-2785  ... Read Answer

You should read the court order that incorporates the marital settlement agreement regarding child custody and visitation. If any of those provisions are not complied with by the other party, then you can make a motion to hold the party out of compliance for contempt due to a violation of the order. ... Read Answer

So, a court cannot force a parent to see their child. But a court can force a child to see their parent. If you choose to not have any visitation rights to your child, the only consequences would be a probable increase in child support payments. The policy of courts is to fix the child support amount in proportion to the amount of time each parent spends with the child. Accordingly, if you do not wish to see your child anymore, then your ex would most likely make a motion to increase your child support. ... Read Answer

First, your attorney should be answering quesitons for you.  Since advice can differ between attorneys, be cautious about seeking another attorney's advice instead of the one you hired.  Also, your attorney wlll be more aware of your local court's practices than some random lawyer on the internet. To answer your question, yes, your attorney may request a continuance.  The Court wants a trial where both parties are prepared and all the evidence is presented, so if a continuance is necessary the Judge will consider it.  Your attorney may also consider requesting a case management order to be issued after an attorney conference so that all dates can be set when everyone is there and calendars can be compared.... Read Answer

Prior to initiating any action for custody or visitation an analysis of jurisdiction and venue is required.  The question presented suggests that the mother and father now live in different states.  I will propose a few scenarios: Scenario 1:  Father resides in South Carolina, mother resided in South Carolina when the child was born and continued to reside in South Carolina until the child was 8 months old.  Because the child has not resided in North Carolina for a 6 month period, South Carolina should have jurisdiction to determine custody and visitation unless the mother or child were victims of domestic violence. Scenario 2: Father resides in South Carolina.  Mother and child have never lived in South Carolina.  The mother and child's home state would have jurisdiction to determine custody and visitation. These are a sampling of possibilities.  To provide a course of action in any family court matter the first step is a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in family court litigation.  ... Read Answer

If you have a standard possession schedule, it probably says that either of you can send a competent adult to pick up/drop off the children. While your concerns are reasonable, the dad has the same level of responsibility as you in making sure the child is safe at all times. You should not use the situation to deny dad his possession time because that could come back to hurt you if he files an enforcement. However, if you are concerned about the drive time, maybe you could offer to meet her and/or the dad halfway.... Read Answer

If your ex-wife has primary custody of your children, she has the right to make the final decision regarding significant issues related to your children, and their education falls within that category. Even though she has the right to make the final decision, she does have an obligation to communicate with you regarding her basis for home schooling the children and to hear your concerns. If you can present a factual basis of a history of poor decision making, neglect, abuse or other circumstances negatively affecting your children by the custodial parent, you can investigate whether a change of custody would be in your children's best interests. I do recommend being as involved in their home schooling process as is possible to make sure they are getting proper instruction and be involved in that process. She does have an obligation to provide you with all information about the program, to include the information necessary (passwords for example) to allow you to log in to check in on their progress.... Read Answer

The short answer is "no", for a couple reasons.  First, if you have an existing court order, the language of the Order controls as to your custody and parenting plan.  Since no verbal agreement had been reviewed and approved by the Court, the Court cannot enforce the verbal agreement.  To have the enforcement authority of the Court behind you, all agreements, including modificaitons of your prior Orders, must be in writing, submitted to the Court and signed off on by the Judge. Also, Judges have review authority over all child-related issues until your children are emancipated.  They have review authority to ensure your agreements are in the child's best interests and are not void as against public policy.   All is not lost, however.  A verbal understanding is what can be called "an expression of intent" and Dad's statement can be brought up and discussed in court.  This, like all other evidence, will be considered by your judicial officer in determinning a parenting plan that is in your children's best interests if their parents cannot agree.  Make sure you bring any documentation to any hearing and have a copy for Dad.  If you choose to have your new SO present, make sure s/he can provide testimony in a calm and respectful manner to avoid a circus and the Judge not listening to your side of things.... Read Answer