Legal Question in Family Law in Nevada

General question about loss of custody.

I am a resident of Indiana and I have had my daughter in my possession since November of 2007 and have been in Indiana since March of 2008. My ex in Ely, NV has hired a lawyer here in my town to remove her from my care. We were never married and her intent is to bring the child back to White Pine County. I was told I can fight this there in that county. A paper was presented to me that was PRE-NOTARIZED by a notary and I had to sign it in order to get possession of my child. Does a notary have to see me sign it or is it ok to use that document against me even though it was already pre-notarized??? Also pretaining to my daughter, after 19 months of possession does she have the authority to remove my child out of my care?? No form of custody was established by either of us.


Asked on 6/05/09, 9:19 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Greta Muirhead

Re: General question about loss of custody.

I am not an attorney in Indiana and cannot answer questions about Indiana law.

In Nevada, if a Nevada notary, notarizes a document, she is supposed to take identification from the person, have the person sign her notary book and witness his signature.

In Nevada, if the parties were never married, Mom, by law, is the primary physical custodian of the child unless the parties have gone to court and had a judge decide custody.

Since your daughter has been in the State of Indiana for so long, arguably, Indiana has jurisdiction or "authority" to make decisions about her and the court there could handle your case. However, if mom has filed first in Nevada, you may be forced to litigate in Nevada.

I would recommend that you have a consultation with an Indiana lawyer and that you also speak to someone in the White Pine, Northern Nevada area.

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Answered on 6/05/09, 9:42 am


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