Kidnapping - Child Custody

I have been a single mother for 9 1/2 years. Yesterday when I took my daughter to see her grandmother and father, I was choked when I asked for my daughter back. The police came out and filed a report but my daughter was not given to me despite the fact that her father has only been involved in her life for about a month for her entire life and has never paid child support. I believe he is going to attempt to take her out of state and kidnap her and I need immediate assistance to file with the court to prevent this from happening. Please respond.

[PapaJohn]

Have you already gone to court for custody? If so you should have court papers you can show the police in order to make them act on the order. If you have not gone to court then I hate to say it but you are in a bad position. Without a court order the parent with de facto custody (de facto custody mean the parent having physical possession of the child at the time) is considered to have legal custody and can do what ever they want.

I filed for child support. He never responded to any of the letters from the attorney general and therefore this has not gone to court. The police officer from last night told me that I could get something filed with the court to prevent him from taking her out of state and that I could also file to change the custody status. Please respond.

[PapaJohn]

Child SUPPORT has absolutely nothing to do with child CUSTODY. If you do not have a court order for custody then as I said the parent with de facto custody is considered to have legal custody. Yes you can file for custody in court but be warned, the parent with de facto custody walks into that court with a big advantage off the hop.
Now, after you file for custody you have to make sure the father is served with the papers. If the father is served with the papers and does not show up ion court the judge can make a decision in his absence, most times in the favor of the parent who attends court. If the judge decides in favor of the parent in attendance then a warrant for apprehension is issued and the police and possibly Child Protective Services will go and get the child and bring them to the parent who won the case.


Oh and by the way.... as far as I know, that cop who told you you can file to prevent the father from leaving with the child is full of crap. You MUST FIRST file for custody, and once that application is made you can then submit a motion to prevent the father from leaving with the child.

[tbyte]

Not necessarily.

If the mother and father were never married, some (if not most) States grant full custody to an unmarried mother by default.

I suspect the two were never married, since if they had a legal divorce custody would have been determined at that time.

So, it seems likely to me that the father, grandmother, and grandfather may be charged with kidnapping.

But on another issue...how could you let this drag on for NINE AND A HALF YEARS without getting a child support order or a parenting plan? Your statement that "He never responded to any of the letters from the attorney general and therefore this has not gone to court" is no excuse. You have let this go on FAR too long.

In Michigan at the hospital if the couple is not married then they require a father to sign a parentage of Affidavit that gives the mother custody. I am not sure if this applies to any other states

[tbyte]

That sounds fishy to me. Can you provide a link to the statute?
I just don't see how a hospital can require a father to sign anything. What authority does the hospital have to determine custody? What are the consequences if the father refuses to sign? What happens if the father is not present?
There has to be more to the law than this.