Q: My daughter and her baby daddy split up he ran off with the child and we are unable to get ahold of anyone to tell us
How the baby is doing. Louisiana court gave them joint custody on a monthly rotation basis. He has had the baby for a month and we are unable to get any information. We have no idea where he and the baby are. What should we do.
A:
Contact law enforcement. Show them a copy of the custody order, tell them father is in violation of it.
You will also need to ask the Court to enforce visitation. You also should probably ask the Court to grant custody to the mother.
You have not given me enough details for me to know whether you should file your motion in Louisiana court, or in a court of another state. In general, a court that made the custody determination (in this case, the Louisiana court) would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the case, unless, from the facts of the case, it can be shown that another state court should assume jurisdiction.
The UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) tells which state should have jurisdiction over a child custody case. To see the UCCJEA, click here:
https://www.uniformlaws.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=1f38ad4a-09fc-a400-1737-f9ec51ebf85b&forceDialog=0
Note that, the UCCJEA is very complicated, and I cannot explain all of the issues in a post this size.
You may need to consult an attorney in Louisiana -- you may need to resubmit this question to Justia under "Child Custody Louisiana" rather than "Child Custody Oklahoma."
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