Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

My son's father and I originally filed for custody and paternity in Florida. We decided a year or so after filing that we were going to give a relationship another chance and his family offered for us to stay with them for a short while in Louisiana. We never changed residency and it was always a temporary solution to our financial issues. I lent him quite a bit of money and he never paid me back, so I needed the time to recoup from that while he paid me back. Well, he met someone else while we were up there (less than 4 months) and kicked me out so I decided to come back home to Florida. When the time came to move I was obviously going to bring my son with me and I figured we'd have the same arrangement he has with his other son, but since my son is his "favorite" (terms he's used himself) he decided to steal my son from my arms when he asked to give him a hug goodbye, run onto his family's property, and say (in front of my son) that he was going to have me arrested for assault if I tried to get him back and/or shoot me for trespassing. All the while my son was crying to come with me. He will not allow me to see my son, and now I'm back in Florida trying to get him back. They also would not let me on the property to collect my belongings until I called the Sheriff's office and I was able to get half when they got annoyed and the police officer said I needed to come back at a later date. I honestly don't care about my "stuff" I just want my son back and away from that environment. His family is awful and I know that they're trying to fill his head with ideas that I'm a monster and never going to see him again, since even while I was there they were disrespectful and said terrible things about me to my son. Since coming back down I've been given the run around with the legal firms around here (given it's a holiday weekend I can semi understand why) but I really just want to get my son back and as soon as possible. What can I do, and what are my options? And how quickly will I be able to get him back?


Asked on 2/20/12, 10:58 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lucreita Becude Lucreita D. Becude, P.A.

First of all there is a jurisdiction issue. since you moved to Louisanna you needed to establish residency. If you have a paternity custody case here - you can return to Louisanna and have it domesticated there. Then you can go and get your son. As is stands now, you have no help from the Police Dept. because this is a civil matter. They need an Order from the judge for pick up.

If your intention was to not remain in Louisanna and you still have your Florida driver's license, then you might could claim jurisidiction in Florida and RUN to the judge office here and get a pick up order here. They will have the Sheriff enforce picking up this child and returning to you.

Read more
Answered on 2/20/12, 11:09 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Florida