Family Legal Questions

Can my husband stop me from bringing my kids outside state even Though there was domestic violence involved? More Details:I reported a domestic violence against my husband. I took my kids and moved to other state. I dont have family and friends from home state. I'm an immigrant ,no drivers license, no work because my husband took and hid all my papers which preventing me from getting job and drivers license. Now,my husband got a lawyer and trying to get the kids back in the homestate. What is his chance to get the kids?   There are a number of questions that are important:  Was your husband charge and/or convicted of Domestic Violence?  If so, is there  "No Contact Order?"  Have either of you filed for diivorce?  Is there a custody order?  How long ago did you move out of state?  Was there a custody order in effect at that time?  If there was a custody order in effect, did you get an order from the Court to permit you to move out of state?  If there was no custody order when you moved out of state, and if you have been living in another state with your children for more than 6 months, then the home state of the children is your new state, and you can file for divorce / custody in the new state. Even if you have not lived in the new state for more than 6 months, a statute (Unioform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act) would permit you to file for custody in the new state if your husband physically abused you or your hcildren. I strongly suggest that you hire an attorney where you live.  Your attorney should be able to advise you whether you need an attorney in Michigan.  If you cannot afford an attorney, you should call Legal Aid or call the local a bar association for a referal.    Good luck.   Stu Shafer ... Read More

It seems your question is an immigration law question. "Family Law" can be a bit of a confusing term, because your question is about your family, but that is not considered family law. If you will post again to the immigration section somebody qualified in that area will review your question.... Read More

Many facts are unclear -- including when and where the events you describe took place, what exactly you signed to "sign over my rights," and the location and ages of the various parties involved (most importantly you and the child), not to mention why you waited from 2018 to 2020 to inquire about it. Presuming this is a Nevada matter, you should consult a family law specialist well versed in Termination of Parental Rights and Adoption matters; if the events described did not take place in Nevada, consult an attorney in the relevant state.  You can get background information on those legal topics here and here.... Read More

  Thank you for your inquiry. A key question is whether the mediation agreement you filed with the court has been approved by a court order or even made part of a final judgment dissolving your marriage. If so, your action would be to enforce the Order or final judgment through a motion to enforce (to cover the failure to abide by the equitable distribution portion of the Order/judgment) or by a motion for contempt (to cover the failure to pay child support and related issues such as health insurance). The court’s powers to enforce vary depending on whether it is asked to enforce its Order/judgment or to hold your ex in contempt. If youare successful, you can also request the court to award you attorney's fees and costs for maintaining your action. To answer your final question, no, you should not attempt to handle this on your own. You will need the services of a competent family law attorney. I am sorry your prior counsel passed away as he/she would have been ideal for this matter but any good family law attorney can help you.  My office practices family law throughout South Florida for over thirty years and would be pleased to assist you.... Read More

Thank you for your question. The key to your answer depends upon the specific language of the Final Judgment and the relevant statutory and case law. If your then-husband was ordered to pay “all costs of education for [the child]”, then that covers all expenses directly related to the child’s education. That would typically include tuition (if at a private school), transportation (school bus/shuttle expenses), school lunches and related expenses. Extra-curricular school activities (like sports, music, etc.) might be included depending on the breadth of the language in the Final Judgment.  Please have a competent family law attorney - perhaps the lawyer you sued in your divorce case if you had a lawyer - review the Final Judgment and relevant statutory and case law defining “education expenses”. The lawyer should and give you a list of specific items covered under the definition of “education expenses.” If your ex does not favorably respond to a lawyer’s payment demand letter with the details attached, you may file a motion to enforce the Final Judgment. Good luck!... Read More

This is a most peculiar arrangement you had with the mother and the other gentleman. In over thirty years of family law practice, I do not recall a story quite like this. But I believe I can help you.  For purposes of this answer, I am going to assume that the child is very young and this situation occurred recently (within the past twelve months). Of course, if the child is much older the advice I am going to give you may be quite different. Since you wish to establish a relationship with the child, you understand that if this is accomplished you will be entitled to timesharing and shared parental responsibility for the child, all things being equal. You will also have a child support obligation as well. Should you wish to go forward and create a father-child relationship, you should file a paternity action in your Circuit Court and proceed accordingly. The fact that the other ‘father’ placed his name on the birth certificate is not dispositive of the question of paternity. You may also wish to file your name as the child’s father with the Putative Father Registry managed by the State of Florida, which you can locate online. Good luck.... Read More

I am assuming your recitation of the facts and the terms of the court order are accurate. To answer your question, no, the father’s actions are not ‘parental kidnapping’ but may be a clear violation of the judge’s order restoring your supervised timesharing. I would recommend you return to court on a motion to compel compliance with the court’s order. If the facts are as stated, the court will order the father to deliver the child for supervised timesharing and perhaps award you some additional timesharing for the lost days you have experienced with your child. Good luck.... Read More

The answer to your question depends in part on the nature of the current pending legal action between you and your ex-wife. If it is related to a child/children in common, such as a timesharing-related matter, then you will need to disclose where the child/children will be staying when he/she/they are with you. If that is your residence, then disclosure of your address may be compelled to be disclosed.  If the pending action is to enforce payment of alimony or child support arrears or a failure to pay pursuant to an equitable distribution order/judgment, this is in the nature of a collection effort and the court can compel the disclosure of your residence address.    If the pending matter is not residence-related or finance-related, you may wish to file a motion for a protective order with the presiding judge to prevent disclosure of your residential address, or to limit disclosure to specific individuals such as opposing counsel and the court.  Note that Florida law does provide that disclosure of residential addresses may be limited for specified categories of individuals, such as judges, law enforcement officials and others. You can find this list in the Florida statutes.   If your motion is not based on any of the foregoing, you may still have a strong argument based on your ex-wife’s failure to protect your personal accounts in the (immediate?) past, assuming you can prove this at an evidentiary hearing. You should have competent counsel assist you in reviewing this issue and, if needed, preparing and arguing the appropriate motion for protective order.... Read More

Thank you for your question. It seems to be confusing a couple of unique family law concepts but I will try to assist you. These are fact-driven inquiries and good family lawyer should be engaged to at least consult with you to gather all of the relevant facts. By ‘misattributed’ paternity I am guessing that you mean that the wrong man has been alleged to be the father of a child. There are a number of avenues here. For example, if the child was born in an intact marriage, there is a strong presumption that the child is the offspring of the husband. Having that relationship severed, for example in a divorce case, is quite difficult. More so if the couple is not divorcing and the ‘real’ father wishes to establish his paternal rights to the child.  In another scenario if paternity has been established either in a paternity action or by an administrative child support action, having that paternity ‘disestablished’ will require fairly sophisticated legal action. I have successfully handled a number of these cases and much pre-suit planning and post-filing discovery is required. In a third situation, where paternity has not been established either by a paternity action or an administrative child support case, then you will have a much simpler experience. Again, I would need many more facts to answer this part of your question and legal counsel is highly recommended. In your second inquiry concerning child abduction, again this is a fact-driven question. First, who is the alleged ‘abductor’, the birth mother, the birth father, another relative or a complete stranger? Are there any court orders in place determining the rights of either the alleged ‘abductor’ or the non-possessory parent? If there was a parental relocation case filed, that might explain your situation. Again, these are fact-driven questions and a good family lawyer should be consulted to assist you in answering them.... Read More

If an agreement was entered in court the Order should conform to the agreement. However, lawyers and judges speak almost our own language. There are little phrases a judge will use that the lawyers know mean x and y, even though no person said x or y. Most judges take their own notes and will sign orders only if they are correct, in the judge's view. If the judge thinks an Order is correct and a person disagrees, there are Motions that can be filed but that's an uphill battle... Read More

The first question I would ask is whether or not the grandparent even has grounds to seek access to the child. "In Texas, a court can authorize grandparent visitation of a grandchild if visitation is in the child's best interest, and one of the following circumstances exists: The parents divorced; ... A court-order terminated the parent-child relationship; or. The child has lived with the grandparent for at least six months."  (OAG website) If you are not represented by counsel, then I would recommend you hire an attorney. This area of family law can be extremely tricky and you may lose some important parental rights if you are not properly represented. Assuming she has grounds to seek grandparent's rights, her attorney would have to make this request via formal discovery (unless local rules requires automatic disclosure of certain information) and the request would have to be relevant to the pleadings. ... Read More

I do not know what the letter from the law firm said, but as of this moment, the court order in place controls. BUT I gather they are suggesting that there be a modification to your current parenting time plan because of health concerns created by the current pandemic. I dont know if the concerns voiced in the lawyers letter are legitimate or simply an effort by your ex to reduce your time with your daughter - so I suggest that you contact a family law attorney ( not a lawyer who does some family law) to review the letter with him and to discuss whether the concerns voiced are accurate or wrong. If the claims by your ex as to your household are incorrect ( most likely that she is fearful that you are not properly protecting yourself from the virus and she is fearful that you will cause it to spread to your daughter, who will bring it home to her household). This is a setting where calm is best and you / your ex try and figure out how to work together on a plan that permits you to remain actively involved in her life and at the same time addresses her "legitimate" concerns ( if her concerns are legitimate). If your lawyer believes that the concerns voiced are not legitimate, let him respond and provide the details of why you do not believe that any change in your parenting time plan is in order. Again, stay calm and focused and meet with the lawyer. ... Read More

If you have not established your patenrity for your daughter, you must do so now. That will also be your opportunity to ask the court for custody (now called in Florida, 'majority timesharing'). The court will likely appoint a guardian ad litem for your daughter or order a social investigation. That will result in a report to the court with recommendations concerning go-forward custody. You must see a competent family law attorrney to prosecute your paternity and custody claim. The guardian ad litem and/or social investigator will interview your daughter as well as you and her mother. It is unlikely in Florida that a judge would permit a 13 year old testify in court, but the social investigator is permitted to tell the court what the daughter told to him/her. Under our Rules of Procedure, there are strict protocols to be followed prior to allowing a child to so testify directly in a case.... Read More

I am sorry you had such a terrible experience with the father. I hope your son will bre alright in the years ahead. To answer your question, in order to terminate a father's rights in Florida (which will also eliminate any claim for child support going forward), you must show that he has abandoned the boy, that is, had no contact with him and has no interest in establishing a relationship with the son. If the father agrees with you, you may have a chance but it is a tough case to prosecute. You will be in Dependency Court. You should speak with a competent family law attorney before venturing into this area. ... Read More

The process begins like any other divorce and both the business and the house are treated as assets of the marriage, what's called "marital property." The goal of the divorce is to equitably (not EQUALLY, equitably) divide the marital property the unwind the divorce as best as possible.   The complication with going concerns as part of the marital property is that every asset has really only three options. 1) Buy the other out; 2) Sell the asset and split the equity/profit; 3) continue to jointly own the asset as individuals. Of the three, courts prefer the first two options and really dislike the third option.   However, at the end of the day the court is just looking to come to an equitable conclusion. If you and your spouse can come to an agreement as to how you will split (or not split) the marital assets the court will likely approve it.... Read More

You can petition the court or reasonable visitation or custody under these facts. Grandparents, generally have no rights to visitation or custody for an intact family (married spouses). They may obtain rights when it is in the best interest of the child in other circumstances. These include the type of circumstances you are describing wherein custody is held by another grandparent and they are not using their parenting time.   I recommend filing a petition for an allocation of rights and responsibilities under the existing parenting order to assert a claim for grandparent visitation.... Read More

In Tennessee being on the birth certificate is actually not the same thing as being the legal father. It's sort of like being halfway there. You'd have to file an action in the juvenile court, and probably go through DNA testing to exclude him as the father. I don't know what kind of hassle he is causing you, but just being on the birth certificate doesn't give him any rights. You can just ignore him. If he is the biological father than that's all sort of different.... Read More

Signing the birth certificate may be difficult for him, but there's a document called a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, VAP, which is a notarized form which he could sign in jail. All jails have a notary for inmates even though it may be a little bit of a hassle to sign up. With that vap you could get the state to issue a new birth certificate. Certainly, at the hospital you can try to get them to put him on but even if they do you should still get a Vap.... Read More

You will have to evict him. Courts are not processing evictions right now. if he becomes physically abusive or extremely threatening you could perhaps file a petition for an order of protection from domestic violence, but you can tell from the name it's not exactly designed for your situation. You probably can remove his things from everywhere except his living space, in other words I think you can remove his items from your pavilion. He could probably turn around and put them back. Although cops will sometimes get involved with things like this they really shouldn't because they are well-intentioned but often don't really know the law. I think you can keep a careful watch on the news and see when eviction petitions are being heard again and file one that day... Read More

In custody situations, criminal contempt is typically the remedy here. It requires willful disobedience of a court order without excuse. If your ex believes there would be some sort of danger if your child were to be with you pursuant to the order, the more appropriate thing to do would be for your ex to seek an emergency custody order (I have seen at least one instance of this in another state, but it would require very extreme circumstances). Since that has apparently not happened, it can be argued there is no excuse for him or her violating the order. Therefore, a court may find that contempt was comitted.  Criminal contempt requires the same standard as other crimes when taking the case to court: Proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, your ex would be allowed an opportunity to retain counsel or have an attorney appointed by the court if he or she cannot afford one. For these reasons, I highy recommend consulting with an attorney in your area to determine how best to proceed.... Read More

Because you are the presumptive father (you signed the birth certificate) you do not need to wait for child support in order to establish visitation. Instead, petition the court for an order for custody and to establishparental rights and responsibilities. If there is a risk of danger to your child from the boyfriend, you may also be able to move for a temporary custody order and support order. Based on his convictions alone most courts would award this. You may also need to move to have a guardian ad litem appointed due to the risk of danger to the child if they stay with the mother.... Read More

Hello. There are specific relocation laws in regard to minor children. There are many factors and procedures. They have to do with notice, consent and additional statutory requirements. This is not an easy "yes - No" answer.    I will be happy to discuss your options with you.   Jodie Bassichis (954) 963-7300 jbassichislaw@gmail.com  ... Read More

Thank you for your inquiry. If you have a court order granting you a scheudle for timesharing with your daugther, you can enforce the order with the same court that gave you the order. Unless she has provable alleagations of actions by you during timesharing that are detrimental to the child, you should be able to enforce your court order. If you are in the Miami area, you may wish to call our office at David B. MItchell, P.A., at 305.461.5015.... Read More

I am sorry you are having a tough time with your mother. If she is hitting you and throwing things at you, this is not healthy. You might want to talk in confidence to one of your teachers who can help you deal with her, or help her deal with you through counseling. You should try this now and not wait for things to get really out of hand. A good school counselor can help you too if your teachers cannot help.  Good luck!... Read More