Q: I live in Indiana and my ex is keeping my children from me. She said her Attorney told her to do this, no court order
My ex (never married) is keeping the kids from me, she told me and an officer that an attorney advised her to keep the children from me until visitation is put into place. I have signed the paternity affidavit for both my children and for my son we signed a form with the health department agreeing to joint custody. There is no court order in place saying she can keep the children from me and we have no visitations set with the court. Her and I have a verbal and written agreement between us on how we would and have been sharing the children. We have had them an equal amount of time and we both provide for them.
A:
Your situation is exactly why you need to get an actual parenting time order from an appropriate court.
In Indiana, a Juvenile Paternity (JP) case will legally identify you as the father of each child and will establish the parameters of both Custody and Support.
The fact that you have a history of sharing parenting time (both in writing and in practice) is very good for you. You can use that as evidence in mediation and in court.
I would recommend finding a family law attorney in your area and getting a JP case filed as soon as possible.
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.
