Q: Can my out of state ex husband send the police to my house for kidnapping charges after my son has been living with me?
We went though a long, bitter custody battle in MD and he eventually got full physical custody. (He had a lawyer and I didn't). I've lived in CO for 2 1/2 years. He kicked out our son (11) and my mom flew to MD to pick him up and brought him to me because I am his mother and he wanted to be with me.His therapist here says he was emotionally abused there. He was broken when he came to me. Several months have passed, we enrolled him in school, the father knew about this and never sent any form of help and barely contacted him. Now, out of nowhere- he is damanding large amounts of money from me to keep him here or is threatening to call the police for kidnapping if I don't. Our son is stable and happy with me. I am worried about him being further abused if he goes back to his father. I don't know what I can do?
A: The best advice is to contact a family law attorney. The transfer does not sound like it was approved by the court, so the transfer needs to be approved by a court (if the child lived in Colorado for 6 months CO may have jurisdiction over MD). Kidnapping charges could be investigated, but from your facts the likelihood of prosecution is very low (forcing your son to return to MD is more likely). In short, criminal prosecution is very low, but the likelihood that you will need to litigate again is very high. Be aware, the litigation may have to occur in Maryland (contact a Colorado attorney to find out if they think Colorado can assert jurisdiction over the child).
A: He could try to make trouble for you. You should probably consult with a criminal attorney if you are concerned about kidnapping in a criminal sense. Since he kicked the child out and has known where he is the whole time, I don't think calling the police will get him anywhere, but could be wrong. If the father is still in MD, the case would stay in MD, for now at least. You need to speak with an MD attorney about seeking a modification of orders as well as potentially transferring the case to CO. MD would have to give up jurisdiction before CO can accept, unless there is a provable emergency situation tied into abuse.
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