Legal Question in Family Law in California
Leaving children with one spouse & moving to another state
My daughter is thinking about leaving the children (2) ages 1 & 3 with their father, while she moves to another state to find a job and re-establish herself. They are currently not divorced, but are sererated-his decision. She says she can't afford to pay for an attn'y to file for divorce, and he says that he is filing, but as of now, she hasn't seen anything. He is not paying any support, and they have been doing joint custody of every other week with each parent. Can he file for sole custody-stating that she abondoned the children even if he tells her he won't?
We are in Cal. and she is thinking about going to Okla.
What can happen with the custody issue?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Leaving children with one spouse & moving to another state
Your daughter should get an order for her husband to pay child support. This should give her some income while she looks for a job. If her husband refuses to pay child support she can apply for AFDC, and let the county go after him for support.
If your daughter leaves the children with dad while she goes to another state to find work, she is risking losing custody of the children. Regardless of what her husband says, he can file for custody, and will probably be successful. The court is reluctant to change custody when the children are doing well with one parent. There is always a question of how well the child will do with the new parent. Therefore the court stays with what is working.
Your daughter cannot afford not to hire an attorney to advise her regarding the custody and her options.
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