Hollywood, FL asked in Family Law for Florida

Q: My ex boyfriend lives in RI I live FL he wants full custody can he take my boys away

I have been in FL for 3 months. He is not on the birth certificates of both of them. I had my baby in Florida but my 3 yr old was born in Rhode island. He left the home in November and left me with his 2 kids one was 18 and the other one 15 I went to department of human services for help and they told me that he abandoned his children because his 15 yr old I had no legal rights and he abandoned his son we had together. He called me every name in the book also told his own daughter 15 yrs old that it was her f*ING fault that he had to kick me out and the reason for this he said that he did not want to live in the same house because he will make my life a living hell. I had it documented at the department of human services for them not to go after him for child support because I am scared of him I had to leave RI due to not having a place to stay because in December he threw me and my children out of the house while I was 3 months pregnant to have his new girlfriend move in.

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2 Lawyer Answers
John Arthur Smitten
John Arthur Smitten
Answered
  • Clearwater, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: You have to live in FL for 6 months with the kids before you can file a new case in FL.

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
Answered
  • Freeeport, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: The woman who asked the question mentions some four children. Two children were, in November, apparently, 18 years old and 15 years old. There are also two younger children, one 3 years old and one a baby, who was born in Florida. Mr. Smitten is correct about the 3 year-old, under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (the law in Florida as well as in Rhode Island), that child's "home state" is Rhode Island, and will only be Florida when the child has been here for at least six months. However the home state of the "baby" may already be Florida, if it was born earlier than about a month and a half ago (The mother having been here for three months).

What all of this means is that the father could sue in Rhode Island (subject to the above time constraints) for custody of one or more of the children. I don't know that he will do so, however, and his changes of being awarded custody (from what the mother tells us) are not good in any event.

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