Q: If im supposed to have custody of my daughter and her dad is not giving her back to me what do i do ?
He took her when i was sick back in November for 2 weeks so i could get well and then he enrolled her into preschool behind my back . He would drop her off at first to spend a few days with me and turn around and come get her without contacting me first . Now he refuses to let me talk to her majority of the time ... She calls me crying every chance she gets and then hides and tells me to come get her . she said she wants to be with me ive had her since birth without help from her dad up until she was three then he helped a little i guess you can say . i didn't wanna call the cops to go get her because that would be sooo traumatic to her shes terrified of the police. Im soo lost on what to do . if you could help me in anyway it would be amazing .
A:
It is difficult to say what you can do without knowing more. Were you married? If so, are you divorced? You say that you are "supposed to have" custody. Is there a divorce decree or other court order that sets forth the parenting time you each get? If so, you can go to court to enforce it. If you were divorced in MN, the decree should have "Appendix A" attached. http://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/CourtForms/FAM301.pdf?ext=.pdf
This document sets forth that depriving another of parental rights can be a felony.
If you were never married, is there an adjudication of paternity and order for parenting time? If not, and dad has never been adjudicated the father, he has no right to custody. In this case, you should call the police.
If you are still married, but living apart, then you each have parental rights, but there is no set schedule to enforce. You would likely want to initiate proceedings for divorce or legal separation to establish parenting time.
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