Pregnant, unmarried, want to leave PA - Can he stop me?

[alicat2004]

I recently moved to PA from CA to marry and start a family.  My future spouse has decided that he does not want to marry anytime soon.  This was after we already purchased a house together in PA.  I am now expecting our child and not sure this relationship is going to work out.  I moved to PA under false pretences, I have no support sytem as PA is my possibly soon to ex's home state and he is surrounded by family.  All my family and support system is in CA.  Can he prevent me from moving even if the child is not born yet.  Is better for me to move before or after the birth of our child?  Not sure what I'm going to do, just looking for some facts.

[Brent]

>Can he prevent me from
>moving even if the child is not born yet.  

He may very well be able to. Remember this is his child too, and a judge may very well insist that the child remain in the jurisdiction of the local court.


>Is better for me to
>move before or after the birth of our child?  Not sure what
>I'm going to do, just looking for some facts.

Neither, to be blunt. Judges hate to deal with move-away issues, and they are no longer casual about a mother moving the child away from the father, regardless of the circumstances. Moving without approval of a judge (in advance) will come back to haunt you. Trust me. Gone are the days when the mother or custodial parent can move at will whenever and wherever they please. I'd suggest you retain an attorney to discuss this with before you do anything else.

I'd also suggest you consider not moving, as hard as that may be. Your child needs two parents, and not in separate states. Put yourself in the other parent's position for a moment and think about it.

No matter what else, I can guarantee you that moving will give you a full set of new and expensive problems, most of which will involve courts and attorneys (and the costs that go with them). It seems right now that moving will "solve everything", but it won't, and I speak from experience, having seen this scenario many, many times. Consult with an attorney before you do anything.

[Lawmoe]

If the child has not yet been nborn and a paternity action has not been initiated, there is nothing thto preclude you from relocating.  After the child has been born, it may be much more difficult since many states have laws that preeclude leaving the state in order to avoiid a paternity adjudication.