Ex-Spouse Dropped Off the Child, No Longer Wants Custody

[joejrtx]

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

In California my wife was domestically abusive to the me as well as the son (5 months ) ( baby fell off the couch , accidentally hit the baby while trying to hit me, and countless episodes of yelling and outbursts) so after the domestic violence occurring within the home, the instability within her mental state , and finally my wife telling me to leave and take our son ( she didn't want to be a mother , was too young , married , etc. ) (literally i didn't care about trying to make a marriage work anymore, i needed to protect my son ) .My son and i left to stay with my father in Texas. Texas then granted me child custody and a divorce. California the over turned my custody and divorce , basically , through all this i hired a Texas attorney and then hired a California attorney. Granted this was over a period of 14 months ,all and all i lost physical and legal custody, my visitation was the last weekend of every month , supervised , and no over night stays.

So, after that circus occurring i tried to be near my son although she would not allow me visits( not even the video calls ) and i couldn't afford the supervised visitation i returned to Texas to cut my losses and gather myself for such day i can be available for my boy

Then, my wife in California contacts me for money i send it 700 a month , for several months then says she can no longer take care of the boy , text messaging me saying she feeling like killing herself , the boy is unmanageable , she behind on the rent , all kinds of bad ( now im sending her money )( child support was never issued in her favor , although i was granted child support initially from the state of Texas ) .

Ok basically she drops him off in Texas at the airport and returns to California same day but im not supposed to have him unsupervised blah blah blah ..... she left the baby with the baby napper. i dunno what to say or do ?

Help.

[llworking]

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

In California my wife was domestically abusive to the me as well as the child (5 months ) ( baby fell off the couch , accidentally hit the baby while trying to hit me) so after the domestic violence occurring within the home , i and my son left to stay with my father in Texas. Texas then granted me child custody and a divorce. California the over turned my custody and divorce , basically , i lost physical and legal . i hired a Texas attorney and then hired a California attorney . ended with supervised visition

Did you have a question? What happened to you is a fairly common occurrence. When someone runs to another state with a child, and then files for custody and divorce in that state, when that state does not have jurisdiction, then if the other parent is on the ball at all, they are going to file in the state with jurisdiction and will almost always win. Its also not uncommon for the parent who ran with the child, to end up with supervised visitation.

You should have stayed in CA and handled things there. You might have gotten custody and permission to relocate the child to TX.

[joejrtx]

i left the state because my wife start to use drugs and alcohol as well as DV in the home , i left to Texas for a safe haven for my son and I . which is highlighted under the PKPA act .

look the court dropped the ball, and generalized me.

what im asking saying is, since she dropped him off at the airport did, she basically relinquishing custody and abandon the toddler.

[llworking]

You will need to go to court, in California, to get the order modified so that you have custody. However, was the judge's decision that you had to be supervised because you ran to another state with him? Or were there additional reasons. If so, the judge might want the child to stay in CA. Therefore I would get a CA attorney involved.

[PMMH]

I think the question is now that mom has dropped the kid off to him, and he's not supposed to have him unsupervised, what does he do?

[Mr. Knowitall]

The child has been with you in Texas for an unknown amount of time at this point.

If that time is less than six months and you want to file a case in Texas, you can (a) wait until you cross the six month mark, or (b) file for emergency temporary custody and see how mom responds. If you choose the latter, it is possible that mom will change her mind about custody and ask that the California court keep jurisdiction and that the child be returned to California; or she may agree that jurisdiction should ultimately be transferred to Texas. We cannot tell you what she will do.

If the child has been with you in Texas for more than six months, you can file for custody in Texas based upon the child's now being domiciled in that state, and petition for the California court to cede jurisdiction to Texas.

In either of these situations, due to the interstate issues, the relative complexity of litigation under the UCCJEA (the law that governs interstate child custody jurisdiction), and the many unknowns, I suggest working with a lawyer.

You can also file to modify custody in California, but you will be at a disadvantage given that you are in Texas; a lawyer in California can advise you about how litigation will proceed, and any court appearances that you may have to make in California pending the outcome of a motion to modify custody. Given the facts and prior custody litigation, you really should be represented by a lawyer.