Legal Question in Family Law in California
Child custody (international)
Hello,
I am writing on behalf of a friend. She is a legal immigrant (in the US for 3 years) with a son (in the US for 2 years). The biological father is in another country and has not had physical contact with the child in over 2 years and has not supported the child for 2.5 years. The bio father is now threatening to file for legal custody in his country and take the child. The two main questions I have are:
Given that she has the child and he was not abducted and brought to the US and given the father's lack of contact and support, does she have custody ''by default'' (she has the birth certificate with her listed as the mother) or should she file some papers in a US family court?
If the bio father obtains custody in his country can he forcibly remove the child from the US even though the child is a legal resident of the US?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Child custody (international)
She should obtain a custody order in the county where she resides. That would prevent a custody order from another country from being enforced in the U.S. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
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