Mother sent child to Dad; refuses to sign custody papers

[allysonsmom2005]

I have a question... My husband has 2 children that live in Maryland with their mother, boy 13, girl 16, we live in Georgia. Last weekend, the daughter calls crying saying she wants to move here. Mom gets on the phone saying she has to move here with us. Mom has sole custody of both children and is remarried. Dad tells mom to let everything calm down and call back the next day to discuss. Dad tries to put off decision until school gets out, Mom says she has to go today. Dad tries to put it off until Spring Break, so the proper papers can be taken care of. At this point we find out that new husband has given mom ultimatum...daughter goes or we get divorced. Step father pays for plane ticket on same day. Mom & Dad agreed to have custody papers changed, agreed to new child support amount. Mom agrees to have everything taken care of right away, as we cannot enroll daughter in school until we have legal custody, as well as everything that needs to be done for transferring school transcripts. Daughter gets here late Sunday night, Monday is a holiday. Tuesday, mom's tune has changed. She refuses to sign over custody, so the child cannot go to school. Mom refuses to communicate with dad, only daughter. Mom tells daughter she's only here until her attitude improves, which should be in the summertime. The daughter cannot go to school, cannot get a driver's license or go to work. She will be 18 in 9 months. At this point, she's okay with being here, but she wants to go to school. If given the choice, I think she would want to go back with mom, just to be back in school with friends. Meanwhile, mom is still getting child support for 2 children. Does this situatin constitute abandonment? What can be done since we are in 2 different states. I know that a custody battle would go on longer than it takes for her to turn 18. In addition, the daughter has ADHD and mom is refusing to help her get refills on her medications.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I suggest you consult a lawyer about getting an emergency order under the UCCJEA so you can get the daughter in school, while you work things out in the court which issued the original custody order. (Or you can bypass that step and hire a family lawyer in the other state, and try to get a temporary custody order pending further proceedings. That way you would only have to hire a lawyer in one state.)