Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
Child's mother moving to CA
About 1-1/2 mos. ago, my husband's ex-wife told us she was going to move to CA with his daughter, notifying us 4 days before the move. We live in KY but the custody was decided in GA. CA has year-round schools so the whole visitation agreement is messed up. Instead of coming in the summers, she will now be coming 3-4 times a year which means expensive plane tickets that we have to pay for. she was supposed to be coming this weekend but last night my husband was talking to her mother and her mother told him to not send anymore child support and stay out of their lives. we had fought for custody of his daughter from the beginning and now they are so far away. First off, was her mother allowed to move across country like that? And do we have to get everything taken out to CA now to try and do something about it? Please help.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Child's mother moving to CA
The custody decree terms would dictate what the parties can and cannot do. I would advise contacting local counsel for further assistance.
Re: Child's mother moving to CA
Georgia retains jurisdiction as long as one of the parties remains in the State. I would discuss the issue with an attorney in your area. Don't wait for six (6) months though, because the longer the child is in CA, CA will be determined to be the home state of the child. If the mother has not moved to CA, you could go ahead and file a modification action in Georgia and have the mother served here. The Georgia court would then have jurisdiction to hear a modification of custody and/or visitation rights. DON'T stop paying child support, even if the mother says to stop. You do not want to have an arrearage and a possible arrest for abandonment (which can happen under GA law - don't know about KY law). You may also be able to have child support reduced based on the increase cost to transport the child for visitation.
Good luck.
Tahira Piraino
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