Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Absentee Dad
My five year old son lives with me in NJ
From Jan of 04 to today his father has seen him only once in Aug of 05.The agreement is for every other weekend, he never even calls to say he wont be there. No cards, no letters, nothing for his birthday's or other holiday's.
In court he swears up and down I deny him from seeing his son. Last court appereance was thrown out due to lack of evidence on his part. No phone records, no proof at all he made any effort at all to see our son. He is always behind on the low $24 dollars a week child support and shows minimal to no interest in our son. NJ claimed NY had jurastiction despite being NJ residents for several years. This was based on the agreement stating NY had jurastiction in 02.The laws I read state NJ is the home state and legally should be the one with jurastiction.
My question is
Can I get this back to our home state of NJ, How long can NY hold onto this? and do I have a shot at Sole custody?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Absentee Dad
NY is unlikely to relinquish jurisdiction, AT ANY TIME, during your child's minority, without the CONSENT of BOTH parties, who originally consented to NY jurisdiction re custody, visitation or child support issues.
If NY does not "consent" or "waive" jurisdiction, it is also unlikely NJ will ever accept jurisdiction, because, among other things, there is the matter of "Reciprocity."
You should also remember, that if the father works in NY, NY would have an easier time of collecting support from a NY based employer or payor, than NY would, since an out of state order must go through an in state court process to be enforced. Additionally, a parent's obligation to support their child, is Age 21 in NY, while in NJ, it is Age 18. All of which is to your child's advantage.
Good luck,
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