Legal Question in Family Law in California
My son's mother lives in Houston and I live in California. My son was born in California and his mother moved to Houston without my consent after she got married. After the moved we agreed on summer visits of my son to California until last year 2013 she refused to send my son and almost did not send him this year 2014. At this time I would like to file to establish custody as she has threatened to not allow my son to see me in California without a court order so I would like to further this action ASAP. He currently is here with me in California. Do I have to file in Houston or can I file in California?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Bad news. At this time you will need to file in Texas. While you could have objected when she moved the child to Texas, it is too late to raise the issues of your lack of consent.
Mr. McCrary is right. Jurisdiction is determined by the child's habitual place of residence. You had six months from when she moved to file anything over which California would have jurisdiction. The only way for California to reacquire jurisdiction would be if the child resided here for six months. Merely being present in the state does not confer jurisdiction the way it does in many other legal situations.
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