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.
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