Rights of a Father Who Is Not Allowed to See His Children

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Florida
I haven't seen my 2 kids for a couple years now due to my ex wife continuoulsy hiding them from me. My divorce decree clearly state I should have visitation however I haven't been able to see them since this decree went into effect. At one time I did find my children through a former best friend of her's. Once she found out I knew where they were my ex wife quickly took them from the area that she resided in, out of school and relocated else where. I was able to get her number from the same former BF however after a surprise call to her and the lucky chance to speak to my children she then changed her number and again I haven't spoke to them since that was a year or more ago. I've done some research online and clearly understand my rights have been "distressed" according to the leagal world. The last known location of my children is in another state from where I believe they are today. How can I fight this in the court of law?

Get an attorney.

What have you done about enforcing visitation?

Have you ever filed contempt?

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Get an attorney.

What have you done about enforcing visitation?

Have you ever filed contempt?

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The problem is the state that she originally issued this in may not be the state that's she's in with the children now. Also she has her address info blacked out so I can't see it which means I couldn't have her served if I did file the Visitation Enforcement doc. I called the County where I was served from and they won't tell me either. And when I called the filing attorney's office they won't divulge it either. I've been in Florida for a few yrs now but she's moved from state to state over the last 3 yrs now I think they're in Cali. She's very much in contempt but from what I understand I have to file in the state where the children reside that's the Mystery.

She's not in contempt until a court says so :)

What you need to do is find her - this may take a PI if you're unable to do so yourself. Until you can do that, there's really not an awful lot you can do to get visitation reestablished.

Bear in mind that once you do find her, visitation is likely going to take place at least initially in California.

Thats great..well let me ask this, is there a way I can obtain her last known address even if she may or may no longer live there? Is there a law or provision that states she would have to "refile", domesticate / enforce foreign judgement of her previous orders to the new state be it CA? If not then doesn't that mean that the last known state which is the state of TN holds the jurisdiction of the orders? Also wouldn't a lawyer be able to obtain her current information from the Child Support Division which was just recently enforced upon me late last year? I figured I'd have to resort to a PI but would much rather spend that money towards the cost of a lawyer.

Also though the goal is to gain custody of my children via her contempt and distress of my rights I'd be happy with the little steps such as having communications with my children via phone calls a couple times a week and seeing them during summer school vacations and every other holiday like every one else who has visitation schedules. Its just getting the initial information for which I would need to serve her that's that proves to be the major hurdle in front of me.

Just out of curiousity, were there ever any claims of domestic violence? If there were, CA and other states have special programs DESIGNED to help her hide her whereabouts and protect her address - making things substantially harder.

Unfortunately there was a DVO that was filed and is due to be expired in 4 days. All be it objectionable what she claims in it never the less she filed one. I'm sure that remains THE card she plays when ever possible and get this as weired as it seems, in the DVO she has provisions on my visitation for my kids. In anycase, once the expiration date is reached would they as in any state she resides in now be able to "hide" her since it's been 3 yrs and all rules were followed?

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Quoting katurbo

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Unfortunately there was a DVO that was filed

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Bingo. If she's in the address confidentiality program, you're not going to get assistance from anyone other than a private investigator to find any info on her, because the way the program works is that she gets issued a "I don't have to give an address for anything" card that is accepted by everything from the courts, to banks, the post office, DHSMV, tax collector, and about any government or social service office including child support) in between; all correspondence goes through the Attorney General's Office. And if she, or the Attorney General's Office, gets whiff that she's being looked for, that could give her grounds to request extention of the DVO.

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and is due to be expired in 4 days.

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The order might expire then, but her eligibility to remain under the confidentiality program extends WAY beyond the expiration date of the order - in fact, there's no definitive date by which she would be terminated, unless she willingly does so.

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All be it objectionable what she claims in it never the less she filed one.

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It's not the filing that is the problem....any idiot can file one for any or no good reason at all....what matters is that a judge found SOME reason, even bad ones, to issue the order.

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I'm sure that remains THE card she plays when ever possible

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If she was able to meet the pretty strict requirements to get INTO the program (it's not that easy), then that's the benefit to her - the ability to play that card to protect her whereabouts.

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and get this as weired as it seems, in the DVO she has provisions on my visitation for my kids. In anycase, once the expiration date is reached would they as in any state she resides in now be able to "hide" her since it's been 3 yrs and all rules were followed?

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The expiration of the DVO doesn't impact her eligilibity for the confidentiality program, which she could remain in perpetually.

Having waited this long, and without any history of taking the contempt issues to the court, it just doesn't bode well for there to be much for you to do...and anything that CAN be done is going to take the services of an experienced trench warfare family law attorney, and is likely to have to be accomplished in CA - IF you can find her.

well as luck would have it I was picking my brain over this situation and remembered that she had created a social networking profile impersonating my daughter with her and using that profile to reach out to my oldest daughter (with my 1st wife) and according to my daughter she just recently remarried so I looked up his name and low and behold it looks like they're still in TN in the same area as where the court doc's were filed both for child support and dissolution of marriage. So tell me if it would be "leagal" to wait till the DVO expires in a few days and then submit my Request to Enforce Visitation paper work with the local county court there using the last known address which is with her new husband? I'll definately speak to a local Attorney up there and if I have to I'll hire a PI to confirm the specifics with my kids. Thanks so much for your input.

That actually works very well in your favor, and will make your effort MUCH easier. Since there's already a visitation order in place as part of the DVO, and it is business regarding the child that is the issue here, even the existence of the DVO won't bar you from seeking to enforce the sections of the DVO that grant you custody. In other words, even with the DVO in place, it would appear that the court intended for you to be able to maintain contact with your child, and so long as you're not contacting her directly, an attorney working an existing custody issue on your behalf won't reflect negatively on regarding the order. Speak with a good family law attorney, and get the ball rolling ASAP before mom gets wind and decides to grab the child and run.

Exactly right..also last question, since the DVO is set to expire in 3 days and has not been breached, does this mean she wouldn't have any reason to file a new one? My fear is once I do initiate this process with a local lawyer in that area and she does catch wind of it that she may very well go to the court using her expired DVO and claiming new reasons for another DVO to be reissued. At this point all my communications will be filltered through the attorney however I just want to cover my bases when it comes this this subject. Thanks again for your assistance.

She can always ask for an extension on an existing order. If she lets it expire, she'd have to have new circumstances to get another one issued. But even if she gets it, it doesn't bar you from seeking visitation with your child.

Pefect..how would I know if a new one was requested or if the existing one was extended? Wouldn't I have to be served or do I just call the County where she might be residing now and inquire? Is there a toll free number linked to a general database where I would be able to check?

For it to be effective, it would have to be served upon you. As for whether an existing order can be extended, that depends on the law of the state that issues it. In Arizona, the answer is NO. If a party wishes to have an Order of Protection continued, they must petition the court for a new order and specify the reason that a new order should be granted.

As for finding out if another order has been issued, the only general database that would have that is NCIC which is restricted to law enforcement only. You would have to be served with the order or appear in the court that issued the order to get that information.

Your best bet would be a PI or trained Process Server. They make their livings finding folks who don't want to be found.

AZ is not FL.

Thank you so much for that..it makes me feel much better about my next steps moving forward. One question if you don't mind me asking, do you or would you be able to direct me to a list of reputable and legitimate PI's that work in TN? I searched some on the internet but with all the questionable content out there it would be an additional peace of mind if you know of a few good ones. Thank you kindly.

You need a PI in CA....


...unless you want to spend a whole lot more money :/

Nobody here can offer a referral either way. Sorry.