Child Custody Question?
I live in Virginia and my best friend’s wife took off with their 1 year old baby to Tennessee a few weeks ago. He has since filed for divorce and now there is a custody hearing set for July 8th.
What are the laws regarding one parent taking a child across state lines from the other parent? What are his chances of getting custody and would she have to move back to Virginia if he is awarded partial custody? There is no evidence of physical abuse nor was there ever any physical abuse, although they did argue and yell at each other quite frequently. My friend is really depressed and I just want to see if I can get him some better information than his lawyer is giving him.
Golfgirl. She took the baby before he requested a custody hearing and yes he did hire a lawyer last week. Thanks for the answers so far.
She can’t really get into trouble for taking the child across state lines before any papers were filed, but most courts will do everything they can to keep both parents involved in the child’s life. Now, it might be unlikely the court would order her to move back into the state, especially if she has nowhere to go. The positive, she left the house, and if he can prove that he can provide a more stable environment for the baby he has a good chance. If she’s bunking up at a friends house while he is in the home, he may be able to convince the court he is more stable.
Stability has to be his number one thing to concentrate on. She up and left, with no word. He has a good chance. Is she staying with another man? All of these little things add up to make her look irresponsable. A responsible person would have handled it differently, and the courts are swinging away from the automatic woman thing. Tell your friend to keep his chin up, recognize that he does stand a chance, and concentrate on his stability. He should already be looking for daycare, etc, becuase the court is going to ask these questions. The more he can show he has planned this all out realistically and thoroughly, the better chance he has. I’ll be sending good wishes.
Divorce Lawyer/Attorney – No Court Order, No Child Support
