If one parent moves to another state and ignores court orders, can I get full custody?
When you say custody, are you asking about sole decision-making power or just access to the child? This isn’t legal advice, just information. I’m a lawyer, but I’m not your lawyer, and I’m not licensed in California. You might want to modify your existing order to create a realistic access schedule. The court could give him more time than you expect, so keep that in mind. If you both share decision-making authority, you can ask the court for sole decision-making rights due to the distance and communication issues. That doesn’t guarantee you’ll get it, but it’s a possibility. I recommend consulting a lawyer in your area.
@Marston
Thanks for your advice. I’m looking for something stable for our son. If that means he gets more time, I’m okay with it. I just want what’s best for my son as he’s growing up, and I can’t raise him alone. I want him to follow the court order, but with the distance, I know that’s tough.
There isn’t enough info to answer this. What state are you in? Are you married? Is there a custody agreement? If not married, are you the mother or father on the birth certificate? How long has the other parent been in the new state? Why did they move? What does your custody agreement say? We need a lot more details to give you a proper answer.
@Claudia
I’m in California, and we do have a custody agreement through the court that he isn’t following. I’m the mother, and we’re divorced. Both of us are on the birth certificate. He’s been gone for about 2 years now, moving for personal reasons since he works from home.
@Darian
What exactly is he not following? Is he not taking his parenting time because of the move, or is it something else? Please be more specific; it’s hard to help when details are vague.
He didn’t get a move-away order; he just left. He was supposed to have our son 3 days a week per the court order, but he’s been gone for about 2 years. He sees our son randomly, but it’s not consistent. My son has even missed school because of this.
@Darian
You can definitely ask to change the custody order to something more suitable given the distance. It looks like you should keep primary custody since you’ve been handling things for the past 2 years, but he will likely get some custody.
Did he get a move-away order? How exactly is he disregarding the court orders? We need more details here.