Q: I have full custody. My court orders are from CA. I have no court orders in mass. I want to move back out of state.
My custody was granted in California about 8 years ago. We haven't lived together or been in the same state till this year. He only saw the boys about 5 times in that period. He owes me back child support. He is being verbally abusive to me and the boys. I found out he is using drugs.Were now in Massachusetts living in an apartment with our boys, but aren't a couple. We have only been here less then a year. Can I move back out of the state without getting in trouble. He has issues with the court for stealing something and owes fines which I did not know when I came here from out of state. I also think he may have a warrant in Arizona for not appearing in court for violating a protection order. I didn't know that either. I want to get out of this state to a better living situation for me and my boys. We have no court orders in Massachusetts. So my paperwork from my devorce where I have full leagle cosdity is from California. I need to leave the abuse. Can I move out of Massachusetts?
A: Hello, Because you have been living in Massachusetts for over 6 months, Massachusetts has jurisdiction over the children and you would need to seek to Modify the California Judgment and address custody and visitation here. Since neither of you any longer resides in California then the child support orders would be enforced here as well. This can get complicated so I urge you to engage divorce counsel to represent you. You do need Court approval to remove the children if he does not agree- and you need to embody any agreement in a Court Judgment.
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