QUESTION
Can I move out of New York to Califrniawith my child without going throught he court or telling the father?
Asked on Jul 12th, 2015 on Child Custody - New York
More details to this question:
I have a 4 year old son with a man that I was never married but he did sign an AOP at the hospital. Since the birth of our child, I have never received any kind of financial support from him. He calls once every 2 months or so and the last time he has seen our son was in September of 2014. Before that it was in March of 2014. He has recently ( 3 months ago) moved in with his dad in New Jersey. So basically, I have always wanted to live in California. Can I just pick up and move without informing him ? I don't have an address for him and his phone number is constantly changing. Plus I have changed mine recently so I doubt he will be able to reach me. A lawyer friend told me that I can move to cali and wait it ot 6 months so then it becomes my home state.
1 ANSWER
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Technically, while it is always better to get a court order or permission, because the father has moved out of the state to NJ there isn't a real reason for you to be made to stay here in NY. If he isn't having much visitation, why would he object to the move? Maybe you can get permission or at least establish an open line of communication with him.
Once the child lives in any state for six months, that state will become the home state.
You may not have much of a relationship with your child's father, but that is still your child's father and the older your child gets, the more your son will have questions about his dad. Having a line of communication with dad now may benefit you all in the long-run.
Good luck.
Answered on Jul 13th, 2015 at 1:01 PM