Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
visitation
I currently live in florida and childrens father lives in pa. He has not seen the children in almost 6 years,due to not wanting to see them.The courts in pa. allowed the move,along with the childrens father.I have called on several occasions over the years to talk about visitation and have been hung up on.Now he has a ''super lawyer'' and the courts in pa. have ordered me to bring the children to pa.,even though they are in school and they do not know the background of our talks over the years.The courts have suspended my child support because I used a p.o. box when I was moving in august 2008 and the ''lawyer'' said that how do they know if I still have custody of my children.I immediately notified the courts of my permenant address but they did not reinstate my support.Can the courts order me to bring the children to pa. even though they will miss school?Can I request to the courts to order him to fly to florida?Can I get my support reinstated?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: visitation
As your case originated in PA, and your ex continues to live there, PA retains jurisdiction (the only state in which you can litigate your issues) until it relinquishes it--and that doesn't sound like it is happening. You can be ordered to return the kids to PA for visitation. Get yourself a PA attorney in the county in which the action is pending to represent your rights.
Re: visitation
Under UCCJEA the courts in Florida have jurisdiction assuming you have lived in Florida for at least 6 MONTHS.
Under PA law a failure to exercise custody rights doesn't bar the non custodial parent from getting them.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.
{John}
Re: visitation
Since you've gotten two somewhat conflicting answers from attorneys, I thought I should add a little to their answers.
The Pennsylvania lawyer's answer would be correct for Florida law also. That is, if the kids have lived in Florida for the past six months, your jurisdiction (the place where your case should occur) is Florida. Therefore, you should immediately get a Florida attorney to file a case in Florida. The Florida and Pennsylvania judges will then hash it out as to where the case will happen, but it sounds like it should be Florida.
However, you should also get a Pennsylvania lawyer to handle the case from that end to get the case dismissed for improper jurisdiction. DO NOT FILE ANY PAPERS in Pennsylvania until you speak with a Pennsylvania lawyer or you could lose your right to have your case heard in Florida. By filing papers in Pennsylvania, you may be consenting to your case being heard in Pennsylvania. On the other hand, don't miss any Pennsylvania filing deadlines, so speak with both a Florida and a Pennsylvania lawyer immediately!
One more thing: even though custody and visitation issues will--I think-- be handled in Florida--child support issues must be handled where the payor (your husband) lives, so the child support case must stay in Pennsylvania and the custody issues will happen in Florida. Weird, I know, but that's how it is. And yes, it's stinks that you'll have to hire two lawyers, especially when you aren't getting child support.
To sum up:
You custody case should be in Florida, so call a Florida lawyer.
Get a Pennsylvania lawyer to file the right papers in Pennsylvania because, if you file the wrong papers, your case will stay in Pennsylvania, where it sounds like you're losing.
Your Pennsylvania lawyer will also have to handle your child support case in Pennsylvania.
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