Can You Modify a Joint Custody Order if the Other Parent Moves Out of State

[nutelaa02]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: New Jersey

My son's father and I have a current custody order that was established 4 years ago and has not changed (son is 4 years old for reference). The order states: I have him 4 days/week and his father has him 3 days/ week.

2 years ago his father moved to another state and I'm afraid that he may try to take our son with him in the future. Not only that but I do not want our previous arrangement to resume. He left us years ago and I'm afraid he may come back and then demand to take him for 3 days a week. He owes me over 10,000$ in child support, has no stable residence and has seen his son maybe 5 times in over 2 years.

Can I apply to cancel the current order? Can I request sole physical custody? What can I request from the court?

[llworking]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: New Jersey


My son's father and I have a current custody order that was established 4 years ago and has not changed (son is 4 years old for reference). The order states: I have him 4 days/week and his father has him 3 days/ week.

2 years ago his father moved to another state and I'm afraid that he may try to take our son with him in the future. Not only that but I do not want our previous arrangement to resume. He left us years ago and I'm afraid he may come back and then demand to take him for 3 days a week. He owes me over 10,000$ in child support, has no stable residence and has seen his son maybe 5 times in over 2 years.

Can I apply to cancel the current order? Can I request sole physical custody? What can I request from the court?

You can file for a motion to modify custody based on the fact that he moved away two years ago and has only see the child 5 times in two years. Or, you can wait until he actually comes back and tries to insist on the original order and then file a motion at that time to modify.

Which you should do depends on which method you think would poke the sleeping bear the least.