Legal Question in Family Law in Louisiana

Re: moving out of state

I am assuming for purposes of this response that his fatherhood has not been legally established by virtue of either court decree or legal declaration in accordance with Louisiana law. Assuming that is true, you would have effective sole legal custody and would have had every right to move. But, if that is not true, I'm not sure the answer would be any different, although I would doubt it. Hopefully, somebody here who is a member of the Louisiana Bar will add to my answer.

Yes, you cannot bring a custody petition in California until you have been there six months. During that period, he could bring one in Louisiana, although I don't know how successful he expects to be after having never supported the child since birth and with you having been taking care of him/her all this time. However, if he is a decent person and willing to start supporting the child, it is possible a court there could either formalize the visitation, or grant some type of joint custody, but it will almost certainly also formalize his support obligations. In other words, assuming both of you are decent, reputable people, I think the best he could come out in an honest courtroom is probably with something along the lines he orally agreed to and an order compelling him to pay child support, but he could end with nothing but a child support order against him. So, he may just be blowing smoke here, but if he files such a petition in the next six months, you will have to answer it there to protect your rights. After six months, he should lose all rights to sue in Louisiana, since state laws on the question of jurisdiction over custody disputes are pretty close to uniform around the country.

In any event, I don't think any court, Louisiana, California or otherwise, could constitutionally order you to move back to Louisiana, but they would have the potential power to order you to bring the child back. I just don't see that happening under these facts, but, again, hopefully a Louisiana lawyer will weigh in on that one.

I am not sure why you would want to sue for joint custody in Calif after the six months is up. You already have sole legal custody by operation of law, so, unless you want to force him to pay child support or have a court specify his visitation rights, there would be little point. But, the court in California will probably not have personal jurisdiction over him so will probably not have the power to force him to pay you child support, so, again, not much point there, either. Also, you might still have to prove paternity before you can even get such orders. Instead, it would seem better to see if he will sue you to get custody, in which case, he will be accepting the personal jurisdiction of the California court, and you can counter for child support, etc.

Bottom line: He may just be bluffing.

Hopefully, a Louisiana lawyer will see something to add here.

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Re: moving out of state

Since it does not appear your childs father has proven paternity, his rights presently may be very limited. You can file for custody, however. The 6 month rule is only re divorce in Ca. 800-685-6950

Re: moving out of state

I'm wondering if either my disagreeing colleagues have misread the facts, or if I have misread the law. CA Family Law 3421 states that the court will only have jurisdiction to make an "initial" custody determination if the child has been resident 6 months. Normally, divorce is the initial determination so, in this circumstance of moving, it would be a subsequent determination. But, as I understand it, custody has never been determined before, so any determination by a California court will be an initial determination.

Reply: moving out of state

You can file for child custdy and child support in California after your son has been here for 1 day. The 6 month rule is for divorce, not child custody.

I suggest that you consult with an experienced family law lawyer. Experience is not expensive, it's priceless!

You will find some valuable information on various family law issues including child custody at my web site.

Good luck to you!

Brian Levy, Esq.

www.calattorney.com

Re: moving out of state

You have broken no Louisiana law. All 50 states are signatory to the uniform child custody jurisdiction act (UCCJA), and give full credit to all other states in child custody cases. I see you having no problems. In 31 years of practice, I have NEVER seen a father FORCE his child's mother to come back to his state to decide his visitation rights, when HE KNOWS that the court will be asked to set his child support payments. This is NOT ADVICE, but let me tell you this story....my daughter has a 12 year old child by the man she was not married to......when she met the man of her dreams, it meant they were going to leave Louisiana with my granddaughter. Since the child's father was never ordered to pay support, and no "official Custody" order was issued, or judgment setting forth visitation, my daughter took my granddaughter and moved with her husband to West Virginia.........when "dad" found out, he threatened EVERYTHING......my daughter and son-in-law said OK.......let's try to agree to custody, SUPPORT and visitation and if not, then you, "dad", file with the Louisiana court and let it set all of those issues......he neither paid for an attorney, or court costs, or the child support which would have been set....I am not saying the same will happen in your case, but only telling you the story of my granddaughter.