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I have sole physical custody in NY. My ex husband moved to Illinois 3 years ago to avoid child support ( is in significant arrears, was found in contempt in NYS, and there is a NY arrest warrant for him). MY 16 year old has now decided that he wants to live with his father. So his dad and he have come up with a plan. My 16 and 12 year old son are going to visit their dad in Chicago for summer vacation ( 2 weeks). I overheard my son telling his dad that he will come for the Chicago visit and just never return back to me in NYC, and that he will live with him going forward in Chicago. When I confronted my son, he said it was true and that his father has been trying to convince my 2 sons to live with him for many years ( and he will give them material things) , and that now my 16 year old wants to go live with him. What do I do if my boys do not return home after their visitation time and if boys refuse to return because father convinced them to stay with him now ( as it seems it is happening). Will the Illinois Police send my children home? Will the NY court allow a custody change to the father in Chicago? If my 12 year old wants to stay with me, will the court say both siblings must stay together and the 12 year old must go with brother? Will the NY Court see that the father only wants our children to get rid of arrest warrant and to stop having support obligations, or will they allow my 16 year old to live with dad in CHicago because he now wants to?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: New York Already Tried: nothing yet- this a recent issue
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Hi again. I hope you can now see my typing... If my 16 year old refuses to come back to NYC- what petition do I file in NY? How would a 16 year old be physically forced to come back if he doesn't want to? If there was a custody hearing in NYC, would the court arrest the father ( as there is a NY arrest warrant for him not paying support)? would the Court listen to my ex husband's petition being that he has not paid support and has an arrest warrant? Would they listen to my 16 year old desires? Or would they see the father is manipulating the 16 year old to get out of support? I have been the sole custodial parent and have cared for both on my own for 3 years. I heard the court tries to keep siblings together so would the court say both brothers now live in Chicago if older brother goes and younger one not sure of what he wants to do?
Hi! Yes, I can see you now :) sorry about that. If your son refuses to come back, you would first call the police in the city where your ex is and fax them a copy of the court order. Hopefully, they would go over and tell your son he has to go home and tell your ex that if he doesn't, they will arrest your ex for kidnapping. If the authorities refuse to get involved, then the next step is to go to court in NY on a motion for contempt and an order commanding your ex to release your son. Then, if he doesn't comply, you would have the order domesticated in IL and he could be arrested there. Yes, the court could and would have him arrested at a custody hearing. Yes, the court has the option to listen to your husband's petition but the judge is not going to have any patience or leniency with him when he owes this support. Support is not supposed to affect visitation status, but the truth is that it does. Technically, yes, the court can listen to what your son wants and under normal circumstances would, but when there is an arrest warrant out, it is a lot less likely. The court tries to keep siblings together in custody battles where the exs want both kids and the kids want to stay together, but if one child wants to live with one parent and another with the other, then the court is fine with that.LADY LAWYER41081.2327872338
Few more questions:
If I get another contempt order in NY for father refusing to return child, I know it takes many months to get the NY order registered in Illinois- then by that time the 6 month residency rule would apply in that the children will have lived in Illinois for 6 months , so now Illinois will have jurisdiction over the custody issue - which would be a disaster for me. HOw do I avoid that problem? Also, how will Illinois enforce a large 16 year old to get on a plane to NYC? Also, who pays for the custody battle and petitions if I have no funds to pay?
So in essence, you feel that my ex would not be awarded custody even if children want to go with him because of his support arrears, and arrest warrant?
I have to keep answering you here since this is your original question. Yes, if he won't send your son or sons home and the authorities will not help you based on your current court order, then going to court in NY is your only other option. You can file for an emergency hearing in both NY and IL so it will be expedited. In any case, you do not need to worry ab the residency requirements as this type of case would be an exception to the rule. The kids would not be considered to be residents in IL during that time since you have a court order saying you have custody. Your ex would be keeping them there in contempt of a custody agreement so there wouldn't be any issue with the residency issue. If IL orders your son to come home, they can order a law enforcement agent to escort him there.Correct, the botXXXXX XXXXXne is that I do not feel your ex will be given custody for these reasons and because the court is generally against letting a child move out of state and out of their jurisdiction. Lastly, if anything, the court would be more persuaded to keep the siblings together in your home, not apart in different states and not together with your ex.I did notice that you gave me a negative rating. This goes on my permanent record and is available for all future customers to see. I don't mind if you don't want to accept my answer, but I would appreciate if you could change the rating if you are able and feel that I have helped you with your question. Thank you for your consideration! Again, happy to answer any other questions if you have them!
Experience: Family Law Attorney
Thank you ! the negative rating was when you could not see my second question and could not answer it- so I thought this was a terrible site. But in the end all worked out, Thanks