Wife in Prison, Separated Husband Wants to Move Children Out of State

My question involves a child custody case from the State of Ohio:
Hi,
Wife is in prison sentenced to 4 years but possibly will get out earlier, she now has served 2 years. The husband has the two children (17 & 15) and wants to move out of state.
Does he have the right to do this without her consent? Does she have the right to stop him since she is incarcerated. They separated after she went to prison, the mother has always been a great mother and very active in her children's lives. The children have visited the mother every chance the prison allows since she has been incarcerated.
Thank you in advance for any information you can give me.

Are there court orders in place regarding custody/visitation as part of the separation agreement?

No, there are not, they aren't legally separated, the husband has just moved on and threatening to move out of state with the children.
Thank you for responding.

Unless there is a court order to the contrary, or a divorce action has been filed that would give the court authority to intervene or place such a restriction, mom has no legal cause or reason to interfere with dad taking the children anywhere.

Concur with Catherine. Unless and until there are court orders to the contrary, both parents have the right to take the children where they please, with or without input from the other parent.

I appreciate your responses.... It doesn't seem fair that a spouse can just take the kids and move out of state in the middle of the night while they are still married or is this only because the mom is incarcerated? Does the mother have any legal rights for visitation of the kids while she is in prison? The grandparents have been bringing them to visit. If they were devorced would that change things in other words if she filed for divorce could she stop him from taking the kids out of state? I realize being in prison you lose alot of your rights but shouldn't a mother still have the right to see her children?
Thanks again for your help....

No she has no right to visitation in prison. Maybe she will make better choices in the future.

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Quoting veronakid

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I appreciate your responses.... It doesn't seem fair that a spouse can just take the kids and move out of state in the middle of the night while they are still married or is this only because the mom is incarcerated?

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No, it's because both parents have 100% full rights regarding the children. One parent doesn't need permission from another parent to take children anywhere, whether it's to the grocery store, to Disney, or to another state.

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Does the mother have any legal rights for visitation of the kids while she is in prison?

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No. And even if she did, she couldn't compel dad to bring the children to a prison. Being in prison creates lots of problems for freedoms and rights, including rights regarding raising and visiting one's children. It's just the nature of the beast.

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The grandparents have been bringing them to visit. If they were devorced would that change things in other words if she filed for divorce could she stop him from taking the kids out of state?

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She could delay it for the length of time that it would take the court to have a hearing, but dad has a HUGE advantage in such a hearing because she's in PRISON. She's not in a position to BE a parent, and thus dad is going to get a LOT of leeway in what the court will allow him, as the sole functioning parent, to do. Normally, such moves get a lot of scrutiny, and the parent being left behind (if the court allows the move) has a lot of leverage, and can ask the court for extended visitation times, ask for the cost of visitation to be borne by the parent who is leaving with the kids, etc. But in her position, mom doesn't have the same typical arguments. Depending on the ages of the children and the nature of mom's crime, it's even possible that if either side files for divorce, that dad could ask for NO visitation or for SUPERVISED visitation once mom is released from prison. She's really NOT in a position to demand anything, and doing so before she is in a position where she's CAPABLE of functioning as a parent could have the unintended consquence of dad doing more than just creating physical distance by moving, such as creating LEGAL distance via divorce and the requesting of sole custody or even complete termination of mom's parental rights.

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I realize being in prison you lose alot of your rights but shouldn't a mother still have the right to see her children?

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When she gets out, yes. As it stands right now, she doesn't have the ability to ENFORCE her rights. But dad DOES have the ability to ask the court to CURB her rights. So she needs to be very careful, lest she prompt dad to take steps that could make her parental status go from bad to worse.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond and answer my questions and concerns. Have a great day....

Just to reiterate - if Dad does petition to relocate out of State, the court is left with two options. Either modify custody to where Mom is the CP, or allow the relocation.

The court in this case has no choice - it would, realistically, have to approve the relocation.

So Dad has to petition the court and get approval to move and can't just move without doing that? If he does have to petition the court and doesn't, is there anything that can be done about it once he moves?

No, that's not what we're saying.

Dad is currently STILL married to Mom, correct?

(Who are you in this, btw? )

Dad does not need to petition the court because there are no orders in place. Even if there were orders in place, the court would consider this a no brainer. The 17 yr old will be an adult and the 15 yr old will be close to being an adult, by the time mom serves her sentence. As an ex-con, fresh out of prison, mom has about zero chance of getting court ordered custody or visitation before the 2nd child turns 18.

I am in the same situation! I have a question also. Since she is in prison can she start any paperwork that will keep me from moving my boys out of state?

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Quoting NCTex1976

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I am in the same situation! I have a question also. Since she is in prison can she start any paperwork that will keep me from moving my boys out of state?

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If she hires a lawyer, yes she can. Please start another thread if you wish more info.