Q: What happens when a child crosses state lines without approval from court where custody was granted?
My cousin had custody of my younger sister until she died, my aunt now has power of attorney. My grandmother took my younger sister to New jersey to live with our older sister without petitioning the court or notifying them of the transition. While in our older sister's care she had a NJ social worker who served them under the presumption that my older sister had properly obtained guardianship of our younger sister. They now refuse to release her school records so that she can enroll in school in VA after coming down for the summer and learning from the court system that custody was never released from our deceased cousin.
A: Whether the child can leave the state depends on the underlying custody order. It's unclear from your facts if there is even a current custody order (which is different from a power of attorney). You really need to take this to a local family law attorney who can flesh out more details and review any paperwork - the advice you're seeking is a bit too specific to answer on a website like this. Good luck to you.
A: You are asking a family law question on a criminal law site. Go back to "ask a lawyer" on this website, click on "family law" and VA to have attorneys who are far more familiar with the law in that area.
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