Legal Question in Family Law in Iowa

My wife left me three years ago, taking our son and moving with her mother out of state. At first I was paying child support to her, even though we weren't yet divorced, but eventually she started having excuses as to why I couldn't talk to my son when I called so I stopped paying. We're still married, and I just learned that she is living halfway across the United States and our son is living with her mom in a nearby state. In spite of my efforts to contact her in the past 6 months, I've been unable to get a hold of her because her phone is disconnected and anything mailed to the address I had gets returned as unable to deliver. I want to track them both down and, not only finalize a divorce but, since she has left our son behind, also file to gain primary custody because her mom has a past history of frequent moves across the country and I am concerned that this would affect his childhood. I have a stable job and home for him here, and am ready to welcome him back into my life. What can I do to find them and get things filed so that I can obtain the divorce and my rights as his father?


Asked on 3/30/10, 11:30 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

If you are unable to contact her you can still get a divorce. You can also file for custody at that time. If she chooses to make herself unavailable it's to your advantage. I think I would do this right away so as to put the grandmother on notice so that if she decides to disappear it'll cause her a great deal of trouble. In view of the fact that there is no custody and support agreement in place her mother doesn't have much standing.

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Answered on 4/04/10, 1:34 pm


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