Help - Mother took 4 daughters 650 miles away

[tekrocker]

After having been married for 10 years and three months, losing a job, running out of money, entering foreclosure and bankruptcy...BM/wife has taken my daughters (under the guise that they were going on a summer vacation) to grandparents house.  Shortly thereafter I am told they aren't returning and that the BM has a job now in that city.  I have just been served with divorce papers in ex parte.  She is seeking a TRO based on 13 year old DV conviction of mine with another woman prior to our marriage and children.  In the 10 years I have been married I have never once been involved in DV with the BM.  She is claiming that I am a physical threat to her and the children.  I now have less than 2 weeks to respond and it will require me to fly down to San Diego for this.

Now my daughters are down there, they have been enrolled in a new school district, new day care, and are wondering where there daddy is.  What can I do?  What more do you need to know?

[eagleeyefam]

San Diego has some fabulous fathers attorneys.It's gonna cost a good chunk, but get one, get one now.

If mom hasn't been in Cali for 6 months or more then Cali can't take jurisdiction. She has to be a legal resident for the jurisdiction. What state are you from?

California is a joint custody state, actually the first to do joint custody. The courts, this is written in their state laws, are to be gender blind when dealign with family courts. Which is not always the case.

You do not have to fly to san diego to file your response.You can file your response yourself. You will however need to be there for any court hearings.

Our case is in Cali as well.

[ocean]

Get a lawyer by you and file in your state Since you still live in home state , court stays there. File NOW and you can ask that the children return to the home state. She can move, but children can't. You then file by mail to HER court that jurisdiction should not be moved from home state as they do not have grounds to take case. (I dont know the exact wording..but others have done it here). You may be able to do a phone conference or the judge may just kick it back to your state.

[Giggles]

This is a good thread on Jurisdiction info...

http://www.deltabravo.net/forum/index.php/topic,37430.0.html (http://www.deltabravo.net/forum/index.php/topic,37430.0.html)

[Davy]

Trying to be brief ... California has absolutely no jurisdiction to determine ANY CUSTODY issue including parenting time (ie visitation).  More importantly, Ca. has absolutely no jurisdiction over you or your children or the mother as it relates to the children.  Your state, the Home state, has jurisdiction over all parties.   Unfortunately, it is common to file false accusations in an attempt to justify or substantiate the filing in a foreign state (ie Ca. in this case; ie ex-parte ... emergency ... when none or EVIDENCE exist even under the most feeble excuses).

You should file for CUSTODY in your state ASAP but definitely before the children have been absent for 6 months.  You should gain custody hands down since the other parent is not present to contest your custody.  Demand the return of the children.  This custody ruling is temporary and may be changed later even though the other parent is known to the system to have "dirty hands". 

You should NOT appear in Ca. or respond to any Ca. legal filing for fear of giving Ca. any reason or excuse TO TAKE jurisdiction.

The divorce/custody statutes of a state do not kick-in until a proper jurisdiction is established.  At the present, legally, your children are considered to be "kidnapped" and all state and federal statues are highly favorable to the left-behind parent and against the parent that abscounded with the children.

All states have enacted supposely uniformed standards. The foundation act is known as the "Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act" (UCCJA) and is accompanied by federal statues known as the "Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act " (PKPA).

Many may want to consider these situations as mami-pammi with the thinking that the children are OK since they are with a parent.  Statistically, children have not fared well when they are jerked from the other parent in this manner and this is nothing new.  The UCCJA was initiated in 1968 and the PKPA in 1981.

It might be best to retain counsel that will work with you and with UCCJA/PKPA experience if possible.  The jurisdictional presentations should be cheap, unlike custody issues,  and are straight forward and leave nothing to the bias discretion of the court.   At very least, file pro se' (self) for custody in the Home (your) state.

By the way, your issue would have been better placed on the "Custody" board.  An attorney may have talked to you about "visitation" and that is in no way relevant until the children are home.  For heaven's sake.  They are children ... not horses or cattle or automobiles.

Possession is NOT 99.9 % of the law. !!

Best to the children and you. 

[MrCustodyCoach]

Get a lawyer by you and file in your state Since you still live in home state , court stays there. File NOW and you can ask that the children return to the home state. She can move, but children can't. You then file by mail to HER court that jurisdiction should not be moved from home state as they do not have grounds to take case. (I dont know the exact wording..but others have done it here). You may be able to do a phone conference or the judge may just kick it back to your state.

Yep.  You need to get this filed so fast you should file it yesterday if possible.

[Davy]

For clarity.  File in the Home jurisdiction ASAP.  Do not "file" anything in the foreign jurisdiction for fear the mere act of "filing" could be used to justify or argue to obtain jurisdiction.

The filing in the Home state contains verbage to substantiate jurisdiction while being named CP (no opposing argument present).