Asked in Family Law and Child Custody

Q: Can my girlfriend that lives with me but not married take our kids without convent and not say where she took them?

She took them did not notified me or answers my calls

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1 Lawyer Answer
Peter Christopher Lomtevas
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Answered
  • Divorce Lawyer
  • Schenectady, NY

A: The universal principle in effect is that absent a family/matrimonial court order of custody, the parents are free to go anywhere they want at any time they want. The owe an accounting to no one. However, once parents appear in a court to obtain an order of custody and visitation, then all the obligations and responsibilities change dramatically.

Lawyers are often accused of peddling snake oil: selling services no parent needs. Instead, it is very goo advice to get an order of custody at the first sign of problems in a relationship to prevent a parental abduction which without a court order is not an abduction at all.

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