I had a divorce in NC and the final paperwork does not specify anything in regards XXXXX XXXXX travel.I let my ex relocate to Alaska to be with her family, however now I find out she wants to move abroad.She already took my daughter to the Philippines on a vacation without my permission prior to moving to Alaska which I found out about after she returned.We have Joint Legal Custody and I have my daughter for 60% of summers and every other Christmas, Thanksgiving and Spring Break.She also contacted Central Collections stating that I have not been paying child support and Alimony, which I have, although through wire transfer to her bank account. I am working on transferring over through Central Collections and have evidence that I have been paying for the last 5 months.What kind of options do I have? I can't afford a custody battle right now but would something like this give me a chance in winning custody of my daughter back?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: North Carolina Already Tried: I have not attempted to do anything due to the fear I have of her discovering how I learned this information. I discovered this information through her facebook account since she is friends with my mother who she thinks I am not in contact with. By taking legal action she'll know that I have access to her facebook page and then I will lose all future pictures of my daughter which she posts weekly. My ex currently resides in Alaska, I reside in NC and she's planning to move to the Philippines
Thank you for trusting Just Answer. I will answer as clearly as possible.
This would be a breach of the current custody arrangement. Courts in NC are VERY reluctant to allow a person to move out of state with a child, much less out of country. It is highly likely that a court, upon you filing a motion to modify custody, would prevent the child from being taken to the Philippines.
You would need to file a motion to modify the current custody order based on the fact that she intends to remove the child from the US and NC jurisdictions. In your motion you can request full custody to prevent such a move. Generally the court will either allow her to retain custody so long as she says in the US or will award you custody if the mother is going on and moving. You can also request that the child surrender her passport to prevent future travel without court permission.
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John,
Thank you for the information however I was really wondering if the fact that she has already taken my daughter out of the country is enough to win custody of my daughter back since she has in fact violated the custody arrangement.
Also since she currently resides in Alaska with no intent of returning to NC, how would NC be able to impose anything on her through the court since they do not have jurisdiction. The current custody order already has in place that I authorize her to relocate to Alaska, but she didn't relocate there before visiting the Philippines. Is it too late to get her for kidnapping in an attempt to win custody of my daughter back?
Since your daughter returned, the vacation to the Philippines would not be something that would result in the court giving you full custody. It is too late to get her for kidnapping since she is currently in compliance with the order.
As for the NC and Alaska connection. You placed on your question that this question deals with NC. Was the custody order entered in NC or Alaska? If it was in NC, then NC would still have jurisdiction and you could still file in NC under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.
Experience: Over 13 years of Experience in Family Law.