The short version is, my friend may be trying to move out of state with her baby and needs to be sure her ex boyfriend can't try to claim custody of the child and accuse her of kidnapping or something. The long version is, while living together with her (very emotionally manipulative) boyfriend she found out he was cheating on her and tried to get him to talk about it but he refused to tell the truth in spite of proof. She was hospitalized due to stress and ended up moving back in with her family while he kept living in her apartment. When she went back to the apartment to collect some of her things she found proof that he was (and still is) married to another woman. He has also been convicted of domestic violence. Outside of occasionally giving my friend a few dollars, he has never helped with the cost of the baby. He wants to see the baby and complains that he doesn't get to see her often but doesn't help pay when my friend makes the hour long trip once a week to take the baby to see him - and the baby hates him so my friend can't leave the baby alone with him. Although he doesn't really care about the baby, we're afraid that if she tries to move he might take legal action out of pure spite. Does anyone know what legal action could be taken to prevent him from interfering with their lives? If there even is anything that could be done. For reference, she currently lives in Florida. Lawyer pings: @rigorist @pixels
i have no idea how family law works in florida but it is probably screwed up somehow. i really don't have any legal advice because this is an area where states diverge wildly. the one thing i would look into, personal-advice speaking, is getting some sort of restraining order or whatever florida calls it. maybe it would be easier if he's been previously convicted but i honestly don't know what the process is or how it works in FL.
Not legal advice. From experience, moving to Georgia and filing divorce & custody from Georgia, the other person had to respond IN GEORGIA to prevent me from gaining both. I already had physical custody (uncontested at the time of me leaving the state we'd been in). The court would not even look at the custody issue until the child in question was in the state where the filing took place UNLESS it had been removed to avoid the custody hearing. Best bet - move, file as soon as they have a legal address in the state they are moving to.
I don't do family law. Hate it, hate it, hate it. She probably qualifies for Legal Aid, so she should give them a call.
Um, note that Grim was married to the baby's mother at the time. I think in a lot of states that is a HUGE consideration. Like in some states, natural-father has no legal rights to begin with. They have to fight hard to get them at all.
Texas must be an exception, the default here is joint managing conservatorship even if the parents are unmarried. Only way to really stop a dad from seeing his kid here is termination of parental rights. From a personal standpoint, not sure whether appropriate for law enforcement to get involved, but probably worth a think or two.
Thank you all for your replies! @rigorist I googled Legal Aid and am getting a lot of mixed results, is there a specific thing I should be looking for or would just any of them do? Also MN is the state she's looking at moving to, so if you know anyone who'd be willing to give advice I'd love to get in contact with them.
