Q: If a mother has full legal and physical custody of her children, can she move with her children from Alaska?
Biological father was notified and had contact with children, was behind on child support, and is now threatening to have me arrested for kidnapping if I take him to court to go after proper child support.
A:
If a mother has full legal and physical custody, then there must be a custody order. That order spells out the father's visitation rights and child support is already be established. If the mother goes back to court for enforcement or modification, it absolutely does not constitute kidnapping.
Moving out of state in violation of an existing custody/visitation order is another matter. If the mother moves and fails to provide the father with his parenting time as set out in the order, she would be in violation of the order. If she moves without first getting a modified order to fit her new situation, and she fails to provide the required visitation, she will start out with two strikes against her. The move itself is a substantial change in circumstances, which allows the father to file for modification of the order. Ultimately, the judge will have to decide what's best for the kid(s), but moving without making arrangements through the court would start the mother out on the wrong foot in that process. The father might get an order requiring the children to be returned to Alaska pending a decision. Obviously it's more complicated than that, because every situation is different, but generally the best approach is to ask the court for a new custody order before moving. Child support modification could be handled in the same proceeding.
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