Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
Complaint for Custody.
My husband is in the military stationed in Maryland. He has a child who lives in Washington, Pa with her mother. There has never been a custody order established between them, although there is a child support order placed through PA. The mother contacted us two weeks ago on a Friday stating that she was moving to Missouri that coming Sunday. She did not provide my husband with an address and will not answer phone calls. Her child support is currently still through PA. She has not updated her information. As far as we know she could still be in PA, we aren't sure. Our question is, what can he do and in order to file a complaint for custody is my husband still able to go through PA or will we have to contact Missouri?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Complaint for Custody.
You should file in Pennsylvania, not in Missouri, and you may have a difficult time since the child support agaency will not release information about her location. You really should not try to deal with this without a Pennsylvania lawyer.
Re: Complaint for Custody.
Jurisdiction would likely be determined where your child has spent the majority of his/her time during the prior 6 months. If that is PA, I recommend that you contact an attorney in PA and immediately seek a custody determination.