Q: If my mom has custody of my kids she’s from Fl and I’m in pa and they r visiting and want to live here with me can they?
My mom and kids r visiting and she has custody but my kids want to stay in pa and live with me can they stay or do they have to go back with her? They are 15, 13 and 9 I was an addict and had to sign custody over to her because of cys but I have been clean for 3 years now and my kids want to live with me but my mother is trying to make them leave and go back to Florida with her and they want to stay with me In Pennsylvania
A:
If your mother has legal and physical custody of your children, then she has the final say over where the children will be. When you say you "signed custody over," did you give up your parental rights? CYS often seeks for this to happen, and obviously you have NO rights to the children if your parental rights have been terminated in a previous court proceeding.
If you still retain your parental rights, however, you can seek to change custody by filing a petition to modify the present custody order -- but you'll have to do this in Florida if the kids have been living there with your mother. Under uniform child custody jurisdiction laws adopted by almost every state, Florida would be the proper venue to resolve such a petition. It may not be convenient, but if you want to change the custody situation, it's the only way to go.
Best of luck to you.
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