Alice, TX asked in Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for Texas

Q: Can ncp win custody from another state if i never get served papers? Will I lose custody after having the kids for years

Recently divorce share custody of my son with ex husband who has never come down to see my son has only sent $20 dollars in a span of 3 years that we were separated. Now that we are divorce he's only paid another $20 towards what he already owes in child support. He lives in another state and for the safety of my kids he doesn't have our address but knows where we are. He's trying to get full custody of my son after 3 years of not seeing him. He constantly harasses me through the phone through emails always calling police he would show up unannounced with leaving unknown packages at my house. I've had to relocate change jobs change phone numbers just to make it all stop. I have all kinds of evidence of everything him and his new partner keep doing to me my family and friends. I Just need help please to protect my kids from that bad environment. I need help to keep all my kids together please dont mind him coming to see my son but my son needs to feel safe and he doesnt right now.

1 Lawyer Answer

A: Normally, under the UCCJA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act), the state that is the "home state" of the children for the preceding six months has jurisdiction over child custody determinations concerning the children. If your children have lived with you for the past three years, the state where you live has jurisdiction and the state where their father lives lacks jurisdiction to make a child custody determination in your case.

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