Q: How do I modify legal custody from joint to sole if other parent has purposely disappeared with no contact information?
My daughter's father filed for sole custody a little over 2 years ago. The judge actually awarded me primary physical custody and we have joint legal. Right after the trial my ex disappeared, claiming he would be out of town for work. He has not attempted to contact or see my daughter since Dec 2015, but sends child support every month. He changed his email addresses, moved out of his last known address, and does not answer his last known cell number. The only address I have is a PO Box from the check he sends each month. I have reason to believe he left the country due to the nature of his job. How can I file for sole legal custody and change my daughter's daycare (the court order specifically states she has to stay there until school age but it is a poorly run facility) if I have no idea where he is? I've tried contacting his family and even his lawyer from our trial but no one will respond to me.
A: Hire a lawyer to file a petition to modify custody. Provide your factual basis for the request in the petition, which I assume will include the fact that the father has not exercised visitation in years and doesn’t know your child anymore and your child’s changing needs require you to be able to make decisions which the current custody arrangement prevents you from doing in her best interests.
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