Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
if my husband and i was married in the state of florida and we had a child witch is now 5 years old he was born here and has lived here all of his life can his father take me to court in the state of ohio to try to take him from me or dose that all have to be done in the state of florida where we were married and the child was born and has lived all of his life?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It may depend on where the divorce and custody order is entered. If in Florida, the proceeding will almost always be sent back to Florida, especially if you and the child are here and if that has always been the case.
Almost all states are under a law called the UCCJEA (sometimes called the UCCJA, which is an older version, but pretty much the same thing). You can google it to learn more. I don't know if Ohio uses the UCCJEA, but I'd be surprised if they don't. Florida uses the UCCJEA. One major purpose of the UCCJEA law is to prevent parents from running to another state and trying to take kids away when they should be filing custody cases in the child's "home state." A child's "home state" is the state where the child has lived for the six months prior to the custody action being filed. I don't know Ohio law, so you should probably speak with an Ohio lawyer, but I seriously doubt a custody case regarding your child could legally occur outside Florida. If your husband files in Ohio, speak to a Florida lawyer and an Ohio lawyer immediately. To be safe, you may want to go ahead and file for divorce and/or custody (we call it "timeshare") now.