Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

I have a 15 yr old son. His father and I were never married. He never paid child support for our son. My son has lived with me his whole life up until the last year, and he decided he wanted to try living with his dad. This concerns me since his dad does not work, have any insurance on our son, or have his own place to live. He is supported by his girlfriend. He is able to work, but chooses not to. My son has come back to live with me a couple times in the last year, when he and his father don't get along, and his father tells him to leave, they they patch things up, and he goes back to be with his father. I just feel that his is an unhealthy, unstable environment. I want to know if I need to seek court assistance to get my son back, or since there is no custody if I can just make him come back to live with me. Also I am moving from FL to KY next year, so this is also another issue.


Asked on 12/04/09, 12:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brent Rose The Orsini & Rose Law Firm

I agree that this sounds like an unhealthy situation for your son. However, Florida may not have jurisdiction over your son. It appears he may have lived in Kentucky long enough that Kentucky now has jurisdiction over him. If that's true, you may have to file in Kentucky to get custody of your son. (Under Florida law, it would probably be easier, since the father hasn't yet established his "fathers' rights" in Florida. Maybe it's the same in Kentucky, bit I don't know the law there.) Jurisdictional issues between states can be very complex, so you should speak with an attorney.

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Answered on 12/09/09, 3:41 pm


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