Legal Question in Family Law in District of Columbia

Re: Child Custody & Rights

Yes, the father could stop you from removing the child to your native land if you wait around long enough for him to bring the matter before the new Family Court located within the D.C. Superior Court system, assuming that D.C. is the jurisidiction where the child has currently resided for at least the past six months.

Re: Child Custody & Rights

You are free to go whenever you want... but if the father petitions the Court, the Court can issue an injunction which would not allow you to leave the country with your child. Now having said this, once he starts the Cout proceeding you could petition the Court as well to obtain custody of your child and ask the Court for permission to leave the country for a specified amount of time with the promise to return to the States. I can tell you that I had several cases where I represented the parent who lived in the U.S. and who was afraid that the other parent would leave and never return... I always managed to obtain a Court Order which prohibited the parents from leaving with the child and moving more than 25-50 miles away... unless they agreed differently. The best thing that you can do is work on your relationship with the father, become "friends" again if at all possible so that you can reach an agreement whereby the child lives with you in your native country and you allow the other parent to visit, of course an array of other issues need to be discussed such as child support, medical coverage and so forth. It is my experience that unless you leave without saying anything (and basically kidnap the child which is totally not legal!!!!), your chances of winning a court case giving you blank permission to leave in the absence of evidence that shows that he is an unfit parent or a parent who has basically abandoned the child... are very slim. Yours is not an easy case. Good luck.

Tiziana Ventimiglia