Child custody case in two different States , I was awared full custody?

Question

At the time I sought full custody for my child in my State, the mother did as well in her State. Evenetually my State awarded me the the full custody; my child was and has been physically in my home all the time and mother never appeared for the court dates.

After I was awarded custody I received a letter form her State saying that she had temporary custody, but it was apparently thrown out because I showed proof of full custody.

Now, it has been a few years, but she never visited her mom in her State since. Sooner or later, my daughter need to visit her mom. At that time, could the mom try to pursue her custody case again in her State since she would be in physical hands of her daughter? Should I worry about that? Am I protected fully, with my State's decision to award me custody?

Answer 1

By no means am I a lawyer to offer legal advice, just a divorced mom with full custody her own daughters ... so this is strictly my opinion.

If you have full custody and mom has no visitation rights, then your daughter shouldn't visit till there is a legal order for visitation.  Also, depending on the visitation that is ordered, she may have to travel to your state.  Make sure it is on the up and up.  I wouldn't risk sending my children to another state without any legal proceedings allowing it.  

Good luck!!

Answer 2

I do not think you have anything to worry about with her trying to gain custody of your child..... you even say that she has not even seen her mother since the award of custody and courts look a lot of actions... she has not made any attempts to see her child therefore they will not award her anything.

Answer 3

This is my own opinion I myself am in the same boat you are in.  I am in WI and my ex was in LA and so we had not aggreed on things and had to go to mediation.  We aggreed that he would come to WI to see our daughter for Christmas of 07 and that he would call our daughter and keep in contact with our daughter.  Well the last thing we aggreed on in mediation was that I would have full custody.  We had a court date October 07 but it had gotten delated til December 22 or 23rd of 07 well he never showed via phone to the court date in December.  The judge granted everything we aggreed on from mediation and so I was granted Soul Custody.  Now he did contact our daughter in February and I advised him that he missed the court date and that I have Soul Custody he was upset about it.  But he had moved from LA to TN and did not change his address and did not contact the court that he had moved.  He has not contacted our daughter at all since the end of February and his phone is disconnected all I have is his address.  I myself would have to say that you do not have to worry at all because to me if she would ever try for anything I would bring up how she has not been a part of her child's life at all.  Keep track of when you try to call her or when she calls you.  That is my own opinion.

Answer 4

she can always try to get custody of the child. whether she will win or not is a different story. it also depens on the age of your child, the court will sometimes ask the child where they want to live, but that does not always mean the judge will listen. if you have full custody and have for sometime now i wouldnt worry. especially since she has not shown up for any court dates the judge will see she is not very interested. i have no idea how protected you are through your state because all states vary. as long as you appear to your court dates and you are talking good care of your child the judge will see that. good luck!

Answer 5

court ordered visitation is only there as a back up to when parents cant agree, so if you both agree on visitation that isnt specifically listed on court papers then its perfectly fine. However, if you are afraid that she will take off with your child and disappear, then I wouldnt let the child go since you have no court order demanding you do so. If you are comfortable with it then yes, the child deserves a relationship with both parents, if you are fearful of the situation then wait til she has court ordered visitation. As far as her being able to legally keep the child just because she has physical custody of her, NO! If you have court ordered full custody of the child, she will be required to return her to you when you ask. You can get the police involved to get your child back. She can however take  you to court at any time to request visitation, or even custody. It is not likely though that she will get custody, if the child is already used to living with you. But it all depends on how stable your situation is compared to hers and how old your child is.