Clovis, CA asked in Family Law for California

Q: If a biological father withholds his daughter from her mother after suspected child abuse , is that abduction?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: If he is on the birth certificate, he would be presumed to have legal custody as well as the mother, and it would be Joint Legal and Joint Physical Custody - which means he has just as much right to the child as the mother.

Unless Father's action are in violation of a court order it would not be abduction, IN FACT, if ABUSE is going on, and he does nothing, he could be prosecuted for negligence by Child Protective Services.

We see the opposite of this all the time, MOTHER withholds child from FATHER, claiming that she suspects abuse, usually falsely.

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