Legal Question in Family Law in New York

I am a divorced parent. I share joint legal custody of my two children with my ex, he has physical custody. He lives in Wyoming, I live in NY. One of my children lives with him, the other with me. My question is can I file for custody of the child that is with me? I have lived in NY for three years, my child has been with me for over 6 months. My child does not want to go back to live with her father, she is happy here with me but her father is trying to force her to come back to live with him, she is 12 years old and her father has repeatedly told her she has no say in where she is. He does not care about her happiness, he only wants her there for his own selfish reasons. I was told by family court that after the child resides with me for a period of six months that jurisdiction falls to the state where the child resides. He has threatened me with custodial interference even though he has told my daughter that she could stay here until the summer (of which we have proof, he sent her a text message on her cell phone which she has saved).


Asked on 2/01/10, 12:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joel Salinger Law Office of Joel R. Salinger

To answer your question in a very basic way is to say Yes, you can file a petition for custody of your child here in New York. That being said, there are several issues that must be addressed for you to have a successful case. You should talk to an experienced Family Court Attorney before you attempt to take this to court.

If I can be of any other assistance, you can contact me at 516.746.4747 or [email protected].

Joel R. Salinger

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Answered on 2/06/10, 5:58 pm


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