Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Re: Need to modify visitation ordered in Indiana from Virginia

Indiana absolutely has the right to keep that case in their juridiction. It is entirely their call under the Uniform Child Custody Code. The law used to be that you could apply for a modification in any jurisdiction where the child has lived for six months but that law changed and now you can only bring an ORIGINAL PETITION in the state where you've been for six months IF you don't have an Order from any other state. You definitely have to go to Indiana to transfer the case or make any modifications at this point. You need a good lawyer in Indiana to get the transfer done. If there are no further connections that anyone has with that State there is no reason for them to keep it there. If father ever did andd continues to reside in that State, that in and of itself may be sufficnet reason to keep the case. If no one lives there, the motion should be to transfer and Virginia will take the case if the child has resided here for six months. Remember that every J&DR Court has jurisdiction over every child that lives in it's juridiction on an emergency basis.

You definitely can't do an adoption in Virginia. You have to start by divesting natural father of his parental rights, and you've already told me that he's making an 11th hour attempt to stay in the picture. Which he can absolutely do. He can absolutely start making a presence now even though hes been nowhere to be found in 7 years. The burden in most states is that to be divested of parental responsibilities against your will, the state must prove actual neglect and abuse or a continued pattern of neglect (which no contact is), but before Social Services can get involved in something like that they have to give the natural parent event opportunity to rehabilitate himself, which it appears this father is. If he continues becoming more and more involved and steps up to the plate even at this late date, he will not be divested. The constitution says that parents has absolute superior rights and that no one has the right to take a child away from a natural parent except by evidence of abuse and neglect.

Good luck.