Legal Question in Family Law in Canada
custody
I am canadian. I married a U.S. citizen a few months after learning I was pregnant. I had the baby in Canada and since have been traveling back and forth between Canada and the U.S. I don't like it in the U.S. My child and myself have no friends, family or connections there. In Canada, we have everything. I left my husband and have filed for custody. I have not filed for divorce yet though. I don't know how to go about divorce because I was not married in Canada, I was married in the U.S. We have a court date for custody hearing soon. What do I need to do to prepare for this hearing? I am asking for custody of my child. Willing to give his father visitation, but he would have to visit here in Canada. What will happen. I have done all this on my own, without the help of any lawyer. I'm told it is very straight forward. Any advice would be very helpful. Please.
BLou
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: custody
Since you are a resident of Canada you can file for your dissolution in Canada. Jurisdiction for dissolution is where you are living when you dissolve the marriage, not where you got married. You may not need to subject yourself to California jurisdiction depending on other facts of the marriage. Contact an attorney in Canada and get advice whether you can bring the dissolution, child support and child custody actions there. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
Re: custody
It depends on many factors which you have not addressed; where you have your permanent home, where the father has his permanent home, where the child mostly resides, whether or not there are any court proceedings or orders, whether or not there are any agreements (oral or written) about custody, and many other factors. It is not at all straightforward and whoever told you so has little idea of what is involved. I urge you to see a lawyer immediately. It is not possible to advise you what you must do to prepare for a hearing because of the complexity of the situation. A lawyer is an absolute necessity.
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