Q: My girlfriend and her ex never got married, but had a son. I want her to come live with me in CA. How should we proceed?
We've been in a serious relationship for a little over a year. I'm in the Navy, currently stationed in California, but she and her son still live in Iowa. Our ultimate goal is to be together after her job contract ends in April 2020.
She split up with her ex over 3 years ago. After finding out he was cheating on her, she left him and took her son. She also discovered he was selling marijuana to make extra money. After they split, they agreed to have the child 1 week at a time. After a few months of this rotation, he continually postponed his time with the boy, so she decided to assume complete responsibility of raising her son. Her son's father has not paid child support, but he's paid $30/month for half of daycare expenses. Her ex's parents (boy's grandparents) have helped watch him when she has plans, but her ex is usually not around when the boy spends time at their house.
This is a girl I see myself marrying. What are our next steps?
A:
Even though you are a resident of California, there is nothing the California courts can do for you at this time.
Both your girlfriend and the child live in Iowa and are residents of that state so this would fall under their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, I cannot give you any advise as I am not licensed to practice law in Iowa and am not familiar with their laws.
You do need to contact an Iowa attorney immediately to get the proper advice. In the meantime your girlfriend should not remove the child from Iowa pending her getting that advice.
I wish you good luck in your endeavor.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
