Legal Question in Family Law in California
My husband is an alcoholic. He moved my 3 year old daughter and I to California from Virginia. He was recently suspended from his job. He spends all day in bed drinking or passed out. I want to leave him and move my daughter and I back to Virginia. He refuses to sign paperwork giving me permission to do this. I can't have a coherent conversation with him at all because of the condition he is in. Can I move back to Virginia anyway, and file for divorce there? Is it legally OK for me to do this since he is not cooperating? I do not work and do not have the money for an attorney.
3 Answers from Attorneys
If you have been here less than six months, VA still has jurisdiction and you can go back and file there. If more than six months, you can move away but will have to do the legal work here, and you will be at great risk of having the court order the child returned to CA. So if at all possible it would be far better to just file here and ask permission to move later, if you have been here six months or more.
Tim is totally right. Wherever you file, request a suspension of visitation for father and that he participate in substance abuse treatment and counseling to address his sobriety issues. You can also ask the California court for father to have random alcohol testing as part of his visitation requirements.
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