Mother leaving state

[joaneliz]

My son has a 3 year old and he and his ex girlfriend have joint custody. My son pays child support and insurance on the 3 year old. His ex has custodial custody but now has decided to move out of state. Her new boyfriend does not want her to bring the boy with her so shes leaving him here in Missouri with his father. She says she asked family services to stop the child support order but who knows if she did? Should my son get an attorney and ask for custodial custody so she cant come back in a week or month or year and demand custody back? Can he ask for child support from her now, even though she says she wont pay it?

Absolutely.

Your son should immediately file a motion before the court requesting temporary custody and request a hearing for a permanent change of custody.

In the court hearing, he MUST request that he be designated the obligee for child support, and that the mother be designated the obligor. Even if the amount of support he requests from her is minimal, this will prevent here from coming back later and asking the court to grant her child support even if he is the primary caregiver.