Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
possible emergency custody
I have 2 children with my ex ( we were never married ). He has had our oldest son for the last 3 years and our youngest son for a majority of the time. There was a support case brought up in Florida and the only thing ordered was for me to maintain health ins. for both boys, so no custody, visitation or support was ordered due to the fact that at that time I had our youngest son and he had the oldest son. With that said I have recently moved to Ft. Knox, Kentucky because my husband (now) has re-enlised. Well I have the youngest boy because his father and I agreed it would be best for him. And our oldest son is still in Florida with him. I have recieved a phone call from my ex's mother and his aunt letting me know what is going on in the house where our oldest son is residing and they believe it is in our oldest son's best interest to get him away from his father and for him to move here to Kentucky with me. I need to know within my legal rights what I can do to ensure my oldest son's safety without going against the law to bring him here as soon as possible. A few things from the conversation I had with my ex's mother was there is heavy drinking and possible drugs in the house. Violent arguments between my ex and his girlfriend...
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: possible emergency custody
Petition for modification of custody based on the latest circumstances.
Re: possible emergency custody
The best course of action is to contact a Florida attorney and proceed with a determination there under Florida law because Florida has jurisdiction. Kentucky would get jurisdiction if your oldest child came here to live. It would take either residing here 6 months or showing substantial connections to the state, such as the child being enrolled in school here. Even with the latter of those two, Florida could claim jurisdiction.
The only other way for Kentucky to obtain jurisdiction is through KRS 403.828. That would be if the child was present in Kentucky and you could show the existence of an emergency need to protect him. This would only be temporary jurisdiction and Florida could claim jurisdiction and I have no way to predict how likely that would be.
So, if you older child came to Kentucky for a visit AND you could prove to a court that his safety and welfare is jeopardized by returning to court, you MAY get emergency custody here in Kentucky. You would need more than rumors to prove that. Depending on your child's age, his testimony may be considered by the judge.
Making such an attempt could backfire on you though, and you might find yourself back in court in Florida. So, you should be very confident a true emergency exists before taking such steps.
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