Legal Question in Family Law in South Dakota

Re: child

I practice in Montana, but I will assume SD will offer similar relief.

In Montana, if Mother has court-ordered custody, Father might be in contempt of the order. Mother needs to be very careful about her next step. She needs to reed the order to make sure she can take action against Father. If she was represented by an attorney, she might call for advice about her self-help options.

If Father is not entitled to have the child, Mother can request a Sheriff's Deputy accompany her to retrieve the child. She will need to show the court order to the Sheriff.

In the county where I practice the most, the court takes a dim view of one parent interfering with the other parent's legal rights, and of one parent using the child to harrass the other parent. Mother might have grounds to modify the parenting order to restrict Father's access to the child.

This is one area where precision is important to success. If Mother was represented, and feels confident with that attorney, she could request her former attorney to help with the process of retrieving the child and the follow-up modification of the custody order.