Q: Hi, my exhusband moved out of state and we got separated when my daughter was 2 months old. He comes visite her once a
month, we're divorced now. She's almost 2 years old. He wants her to sleep in a hotel with him when he comes to visit, and he also wants to take her to the other state for the weekend. Do I have the right to say no? Since she lives with me, and there is no court order? I can't allow her to sleep over, one I don't trust him, and second she is very attached to me.
A: You should file in court for a custody order to clarify these issues. Where did you divorce? A custody order should have been filed by the divorce judge. More details are necessary to provide a professional analysis of your issue. The best first step is an Initial Consultation with an Attorney. You can read more about me, my credentials, awards, honors, testimonials, and media appearances/ publications on my law practice website, www.AEesq.com. I practice law in CA, NY, MA, and DC in the following areas of law: Business & Contracts, Criminal Defense, Divorce & Child Custody, and Education Law. This answer does not constitute legal advice; make any predictions, guarantees, or warranties; or create any Attorney-Client relationship.
A: If your separation agreement was silent on the visitation issue or merely stated reasonable visitation, then the issue would be whether overnight visitation where there has been not a lot of contact with the child would be in the child's best interests and a good argument that overnight would not be a good idea could be made. If your separation agreement calls for overnight visits to take place, then you should consider a Modification based upon the lack of sufficient contact to make the child comfortable overnight. Are you also concerned about his behavior? You should contact family law counsel as son as possible particularly if he is not fit to take care of the child due to prior history or if there is a chance he might take the child out of state due to comments or actions in the past, etc.
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