Q: Hello, I have 2 young children and we've been living separately from their father.
(I left due to him being emotionally abusive.) We were never married, and I have been taking care of them full time. I've been staying with my mother a couple hours away from him (He stills lives with his parents). He has typically helped me take care of their needs financially, outside the court of law. I want to move NM. Me and the children currently live in TN. I have discussed this with their father, to which he threatened to make my life miserable if I wanted to move too far away from him. I am needing to know what legal action to take into consideration to have custody rights to my children. Thank you in advance for your advice.
A: If there isn't any type of custody order from the court and potentially he didn't sign the birth certificate, you won't have to do anything and you can just move. However, this is for TN. I do not know the laws in NM and could be completely different than in TN regarding child custody. To get a better more individualized recommendation, I suggest you speak with a child custody attorney who will be able to weigh all of your options and get more information from you.
A: You need to sit down with a lawyer and go over the facts of your case. If no pending action, you can move without permission of the court. However, the Father can bring an action under TRCP 65.07 and try to get immediate custody of the children. I strongly advise you to seek an attorney and discuss your facts. It may be best to file an action seeking the Courts permission and could cost you much less money long term as well.
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.