Can You Be Charged With Kidnapping if You Don't Take Your Child Back

[Momom02]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: MO original order but custodial moved to TX

I have my 13 year old son for summer vacation. My ex has physical custody. In our original order I was responsible for transportation but we only lived an hour away from eachother. 4 years ago my ex sent me certified mail saying he was moving to Texas. He then presented me with a paper he typed up saying how he wanted visitation to go. I did not sign this nor a judge. My son recently told his father that he wanted to live with me and since then its been non stop harassment. I know that I can't just keep him and will deal with the custody issue through the court system. My ex believes its me pressuring my son to say he wants to stay. I just want my son to be happy whether its with me or with his father. I do not pressure him or try to make him choose. My issue is that in our original order he was to return home 2 weeks prior to school starting and that I am responsible for transportation. Since his move to texas we have usually just come to an agreement on a day to return with no problem, and we meet half way. Since my son stated he wanted to live here my ex has tried demanding that he come immediatly, which i said no. Then he said Sept. 1st, due to my son being home schooled this year there was no rush. Now he says the 25th I have to meet him or he will press kidnapping charges on me. I am not well off financially. I have to save up for these trips. I told him that I can not meet him on the 25th. I can meet him on the 1st of September. I am not refusing to return my son. I am just refusing to do it on the day he wants. Since he is the one that moved am I even responsible for cost of returning him?

[LawResearcherMissy]

Since he is the one that moved am I even responsible for cost of returning him?

Unless and until your court order is modified, yes, you are.

[Momom02]

can he press kidnapping charges on me if I do not do it on the day he wants?? I am not refusing, I am not hiding my child Im just not able to jump up and drive 5 hrs. because hes mad and wants to change the date of return.

[aardvarc]

Law enforcement isn't going to treat this as a kidnapping case, so his wanting to press charges is irrelevant. They're going to tell him it's a civil matter and that if he feels the court's custody order isn't being followed, that he needs to take the matter before the family court for evaluation for contempt of court.

[Dogmatique]

Sorry Mom, but you should have had that fixed when Dad moved.

You ARE refusing to return your son; if you don't return him as ordered, you can kiss goodbye to any chance you may have had of your son's affidavit of preference helping a change in custody.

[llworking]

Sorry Mom, but you should have had that fixed when Dad moved.

You ARE refusing to return your son; if you don't return him as ordered, you can kiss goodbye to any chance you may have had of your son's affidavit of preference helping a change in custody.

This is an interesting one though, because the court orders state that he is to be returned two weeks before school starts, but he is homeschooled therefore there is no official "start date".

Plus, it appears that dad first tried to demand that the child return immediately when the "wanting to live with mom" talk started, then agreed to September 1st and now wants to renige on that and make it Aug 25th.

I wouldn't begin to guess what a judge would think if dad took mom to court for contempt. Would the judge decide that mom should have returned the child two weeks before public school would have started in dad's area...or would the judge think that dad should have stuck to the September 1st agreement? Does the Aug 25th date correspond with anything? I wouldn't hazzard a guess.