Q: Jurisdiction?
I had a question about jurisdiction that I was hoping you could help me with. Long story short - my son's father filed for custody in one county. I live in another county. Technically, our son has lived in both.t He voluntarily agreed to pay child support to me, and that order lasted a few years, until we went in to change it, during a time we were "working things out." Well, I thought the order was terminated because we both went in and he was "forgiven" the back child support that was owed. But while reading over the document, it seems like the only difference is that I'm not receiving the money, the state is (for "disbursement"). Is that order technically a custody related case in my county even though it was just for child support? Therefore meaning that we HAVE to hold our current custody suit in that same county? Is it still active (if you had to guess, based of the info given) - the title says "Motion to Suspend Child Support"? Do you think you might know what likely happened?
A: Asking the question in a different way isn't going to yield different results. Without seeing the paperwork, our best guess is going to be - who knows. You say the child support was voluntary but then mention Orders and Motions -which indicates you likely are not using the correct terminology for us to know enough about what's actually going on to be able to accurately answer your questions. However, jurisdictional issues are typically something that can be easily remedied by simply having the case moved to the proper jurisdiction. So this is likely not something to be very concerned about. Especially in light of the bigger concerns that go along with a custody case.. You clearly need to sit down with a local family law attorney who can review your specific situation in detail and lay out your options for you. Even if you do not retain the attorney to represent you - having a consultation alone can be very beneficial.
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