Miami, FL asked in Child Custody for Florida

Q: Can unmarried father take child out of state without mothers permission or court order?

I have good reason to believe my daughters father (she is 3, we were never married) has taken her out of state (FL to SC). I did not consent to this and was not informed of this. He is refusing to tell me his location or any other information surrounding the health and safety of my daughter, and will not respond to texts or calls. I believe I know his address in SC and would like to go get my daughter back from him but need to know how to go about that. Do I file a pickup order? An emergency custody order? He has not established paternity and we have not been to court over this yet, so there is no type of visitation or custody in place.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Rand Scott Lieber
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Answered
  • Divorce Lawyer
  • Hollywood, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: The first question that the court will ask is how did he get your daughter to begin with. Did you let him take her voluntarily? Was there a specific day that he was to return her? Did you write anything down? If he has really taken her and cut off all communication then you can report it to the police as a possible kidnapping.

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