Q: Question about how jurisdiction is established in custody matters (never-married parents, no filings or T.O.’s as yet)
Child was born in Ohio, and parents raised the child for eighteen months together in Ohio; in April 2019, mother moved with child to NY state, and is obstructing communication btw father and child, and is denying father visitation
A: It is very likely that jurisdiction will be in New York. The Child has almost certainly established residency in New York, giving its court's jurisdiction over the Child. Furthermore, under Ohio law, when parents are unmarried, the biological mother is given all of the custody rights until a court of competent jurisdiction decides otherwise. This means, since no court order was entered in Ohio prior to moving, you have no established paternity rights yet and no Ohio court exercised jurisdiction (which would have locked the Ohio court in as the proper court for your child). I would suggest consulting with a family law attonrey licensed in NY to clarify.
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