Q: I have documents granting me full custody. Her mom lives in Texas and wants her to visit. Can she take the child from me
I have been to court in Georgia and have had a judge review the case and make a ruling in my favor granting me full custody because the mother essentially abandoned us. She now wants my daughter to visit for a couple of months to Texas. Can she try to take the child from me based on the laws in Texas being different than Georgia laws? Can I tell her that she can't take the child? I've already allowed her to come visit and stay in our home so I haven't denied visitation. thank you
A: This will depend almost entirely on the terms of your custody order. When you say "full custody", do you mean that you have primary custody and the mother has rights to visitation, or that the Mother has absolutely no rights to custody/visitation. Either way, you will need to honor the terms of the custody order, but you do not need to cut the Mother any slack (i.e. if it says she has weekend visitation and two weeks in the summer, that is all she is entitled to and you do not have to do her any favors by letting the child visit for several months in If it is the later, you likely do not need to let the Mother have several months with child). As well, if you are concerned with losing custody of your child, DO NOT LET THE CHILD LEAVE THE STATE OF GEORGIA. Once the child is in Texas, the Mother might attempt to obtain an order in Texas modifying your custody rights. So long as the child stays in Georgia, she would have to file such an action in Georgia (which would likely fail). This is a very fact-intensive question, so please contact a family law attorney in your area ASAP so that they can review your custody orders and give you a more definite answer.
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