Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

my husband and i have been seperated almost 6 years the last maybe 2 whole years they lived with him. for the last 6 months or so hes been preparing to move out of state and take my 2 younger daughters they r 14 and 15 yrs old well he has yet to say a word to me i only know because my girls told me just found out hes planning on leaving this friday my youngest does not want to go all she wants to stay here with me and the oldest who is almost 20 i called him and ask him was he gonna say anything to me he sd what for and there was nothing i could do he was going and taking my daughters whatcan i do?


Asked on 7/11/12, 5:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

M. Elizabeth Foley The Law Office of M. Elizabeth Foley

Unless the two of you have some kind of court order in place regarding custody, neither one of you has any more right to the kids than the other one does. That's just for informational purposes, and I want to make it clear that I'm not advising you as to what you should do. One option that might strengthen your position a bit (though admittedly it's VERY last minute at this point), would be to file what's called a SAPCR case ("Suit Affecting Parent-Child Relationship"), asking for custody of the kids, child support, etc., and make sure both that he knows about it before he leaves and that he is aware that it is a felony offense to leave the state with the intention of permanently removing a child from the court's jurisdiction if you are aware that a SAPCR had been filed--even if there are not temporary orders in place yet. Realistically, if he's leaving Friday, you'd have to do all of this tomorrow (get the SAPCR petition filed and give him a copy with witnesses who'd be able to confirm delivery), so I don't know how feasible that's going to be for you, practically speaking. Maybe you can get lucky and find an attorney who can take care of the initial filing and notice very quickly tomorrow, and then again, maybe not. Good luck.

Read more
Answered on 7/11/12, 6:23 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Texas