Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Hello! I was wondering what my rights are vs my daughter's "fathers" rights in my current situation. My daughter is almost 2 years old and I am planning on moving us out of Indiana to Colorado here in a few days. Her father and I have been split up for over a year now. We were never married and paternity was never established, however, he is on her birth certificate. Nothing has ever been taken to court and he has never paid child support. He is now putting up a big fuss about me taking her away from him. I've told him multiple times he can visit her whenever he wants and I'd even be willing to meet half way for him to visit with her. He keeps telling me if I don't come back in a reasonable time then he's going to take me to court and get custody of our daughter. He has a warrant for his arrest and has a hard time contributing to even buying her diapers twice a month. I don't want child support from him which is why we've never went to court. I would really prefer for him just to leave us alone but, that's not happening unfortunately. My reason for leaving Indiana is to try and make a better life for my daughter and I somewhere else because the economy here where I'm living is very low and it's hard to get all my bills paid. Would he actually be able to take my daughter away from me or have us expedited back to Indiana?

Thank you for your help,

Brittany


Asked on 8/09/10, 6:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Jay Rigdon Rockhill Pinnick LLP

You need to contact an attorney in your community right away. You can not just move without giving proper notice. His rights were deteremined when you had a relationship with him, and nothing you can do later (not taking support, hoping he will go away, etc.) is within your control to change that fact.

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Answered on 8/16/10, 6:44 am

If he has not been determined to be the legal father by a divorce or paternity decree or paternity affidavit, you can leave the state without seeking permission. However, he can file for paternity in Indiana at this time and seek custody. I am not saying that he will get custody, but it is possible. You should consult with an attorney now, to see if you and he can reach some kind of compromise so as to avoid future issues.

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Answered on 8/17/10, 6:48 pm


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