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Taking a Child Out of the State or Country

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  • 01-04-2013, 07:18 PM
    goldilocks
    Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    My question involves a child custody case from the State of: California

    Is a custodial parent allowed to take their child out of the state or country without the other parent's knowledge/permission?

    Supposedly, the father has sole custody.

    He claims that the mother asked him to keep the child for a few days, and she never returned.

    He claims that the court tried to serve her with papers but could not locate her.

    (Trust me, the court knows her location.)

    He claims that after two or three months of the court not being able to serve the papers, that he was awarded sole custody by default.

    Is there any validity to his story?
  • 01-04-2013, 07:45 PM
    EA1070a
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    How can anybody here possibly answer that question? Sure, it's possible but we can't give a definitive answer re: how a court ruled or the judgments that were issued. Call the court or look up the records online.
  • 01-05-2013, 08:36 AM
    tex11
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    Quote:

    Quoting goldilocks
    View Post
    He claims that the court tried to serve her with papers but could not locate her.
    (Trust me, the court knows her location.)


    He claims that after two or three months of the court not being able to serve the papers, that he was awarded sole custody by default.

    Is there any validity to his story?

    There is plenty of room to question the validity and accuracy of such a story.
    "Trusting you" as to whether "the court" knows her location is immaterial.
    Whether or not "the father" knows the mothers location IS material

    It is NOT the court's job to find and serve parents in a child custody case, but rather the father's job in this case, or the fathers attorney. The implication to the contrary, and the implication the father knows the mothers location, is a big red flag on the truthfulness of this story. While temporary custody orders may be awarded with a no show by one parent, permanent orders rendered by default require a few more procedural hoops to jump through than appears to have happened here.
  • 01-05-2013, 09:14 AM
    dad-1234
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    Can't answer the full question, but I know that dad couldn't take child out of the country without a passport and to get one for a minor, both parents need to agree/apply on it unless there is only one legal parent, then the court order and a special form need to be submitted With the application.
  • 01-05-2013, 10:43 AM
    shortie
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    Who are you in this situation, OP?
  • 01-05-2013, 02:33 PM
    goldilocks
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    Quote:

    Quoting shortie
    View Post
    Who are you in this situation, OP?

    I am an extended family member of the father, who does not buy his story.

    He claims the child was abandoned to him by the mother.

    I have no experience with these circumstances, so please bear with me.
    Thanks.:)

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote:

    Quoting dad-1234
    View Post
    Can't answer the full question, but I know that dad couldn't take child out of the country without a passport and to get one for a minor, both parents need to agree/apply on it unless there is only one legal parent, then the court order and a special form need to be submitted With the application.

    This fully answers my question in regards to him taking the child out of the country.
    He is not allowed to contact the mother because of criminal charges against him.
    How he was even allowed to have custody of this child is beyond my comprehension.
    Something just does not seem right, IMO.

    And the reason I asked the original question is because I suspect he might be a flight risk, already addressed in another thread.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote:

    Quoting tex11
    View Post
    There is plenty of room to question the validity and accuracy of such a story.

    It is NOT the court's job to find and serve parents in a child custody case, but rather the father's job in this case, or the fathers attorney.

    The implication to the contrary, and the implication the father knows the mothers location, is a big red flag on the truthfulness of this story.

    I did not know if it was the task of the court or an atty, due to my lack of knowledge on such matters. He had a family law atty on the case.

    I did not intend to imply that the dad knows the mother's current location.
    The last known location was when she handed the child over to him via a family member.
    Then, she allegedly moved...address unknown.
    I am implying that the court knows where she is, because she is a witness for the prosecution in the dad's criminal case.
  • 01-05-2013, 03:28 PM
    llworking
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    Quote:

    Quoting goldilocks
    View Post
    I am an extended family member of the father, who does not buy his story.

    He claims the child was abandoned to him by the mother.

    I have no experience with these circumstances, so please bear with me.
    Thanks.:)

    - - - Updated - - -



    This fully answers my question in regards to him taking the child out of the country.
    He is not allowed to contact the mother because of criminal charges against him.
    How he was even allowed to have custody of this child is beyond my comprehension.
    Something just does not seem right, IMO.

    And the reason I asked the original question is because I suspect he might be a flight risk, already addressed in another thread.

    - - - Updated - - -



    I did not know if it was the task of the court or an atty, due to my lack of knowledge on such matters. He had a family law atty on the case.

    I did not intend to imply that the dad knows the mother's current location.
    The last known location was when she handed the child over to him via a family member.
    Then, she allegedly moved...address unknown.
    I am implying that the court knows where she is, because she is a witness for the prosecution in the dad's criminal case.

    Technically it IS possible for one parent to get sole legal and physcial custody without the knowledge of the other parent. When it happens its usually a situation where the parent who has the child is able to demonstrate to the court that the other parent's location is unknown, and they are allowed to serve the other parent via publication.

    Once one parent has sole legal and physical custody, they ARE able to obtain a passport for the child without the signature of the other parent and they CAN travel outside of the US with the child without the permission of the other parent.

    Its also possible that a family law court, making decisions about custody would have no knowledge of any criminal actions pending against the parent who has possession of the child if the other parent was not present to make them aware of such.
  • 01-05-2013, 04:02 PM
    goldilocks
    Re: Taking a Child Out of the State or Country
    Quote:

    Quoting llworking
    View Post
    Its also possible that a family law court, making decisions about custody would have no knowledge of any criminal actions pending against the parent who has possession of the child if the other parent was not present to make them aware of such.

    If this applies to the situation, then Daddy will get quite a surprise when he is sentenced.
    I suppose the mother will then have custody after he is incarcerated.
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