Legal Question in Family Law in Iowa

Re: Violation of custodial order

I am licensed in Montana, so I will not give specific legal advice on this problem. But here are a few things you can do to either help fix the problem or figure out where it went awry.

First: No one can help unless that person has a copy of your court-ordered parenting schedule.

Second: Usually, you file in the state court that issued the custody order. The fun of law school was dealing with "every rule has exceptions." Here, too, exceptions might require you to file in Florida. For instance, if Iowa ordered the children to live with you, and you resided here in Montana, you could file in Montana to enforce the Iowa order but, to change the order, you would file in Iowa, unless Iowa relinquished jurisdiction to Montana. See how this is never as simple as we think it ought to be??

I think your best bet is to talk with an attorney who specializes in or practices a lot of family law. You might be able to solve your problem in a one-hour consultation, which will be worth the attorney's hourly rate for that hour. If this turns out to me more than a misunderstanding (if mom is not just mistaken, but is deliberately violating an order), I recommend that you do not try to navigate this problem on your own. You have too much at stake to consider it a do-it-yourself project. And, if you prevail, ask for costs and attorney fees, especially if mom deliberately and wrongfully took the children.

Good luck to you.