FBG Lawyers - Temporary Custody? (1 Viewer)

[george]

Soap Opera Time: My 28 yr old niece, her husband, and 3 kids lived in Michigan until about 6-8 weeks ago. They then moved in with his parents in Ohio. He got drunk and knocked her around over the weekend. Police were called. He was charged with domestic violence, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and obstructing official business. This all occurred in Ohio.

She and the kids are staying with my family in WV right now. She has lots of family in WV and grew up here. She plans on divorcing the husband and moving to WV permanently.

Someone told her that she needs to file for Temporary Custody of the children to keep him from trying to come and take them (dont know who). Is this true? Given that there are multiple states involved, can she start proceedings in WV? And what does she need to do next?

 

[Yankee23Fan]

So they got marries in Michigan, moved to Ohio and now she is in West Virginia?

I have no idea how to answer. If this all took place in New Jersey she could file a motion before filing for divorce seeking the entry of order defining custody, residentail arrangments and child support. In New Jersey, you ahve to establish residency to be under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Family Court. I have no idea what the rules are in three other states with cross border custody issues.

What you would need to do here is go to the courthouse and get the pro-se package to file a motion and tell the court what you want. Supporting documents, if any, always help. I would suggest she consult an attorney in all 3 states, starting with Michigan.

 

[chet]

So they got marries in Michigan, moved to Ohio and now she is in West Virginia?

I have no idea how to answer. If this all took place in New Jersey she could file a motion before filing for divorce seeking the entry of order defining custody, residentail arrangments and child support. In New Jersey, you ahve to establish residency to be under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Family Court. I have no idea what the rules are in three other states with cross border custody issues.

What you would need to do here is go to the courthouse and get the pro-se package to file a motion and tell the court what you want. Supporting documents, if any, always help. I would suggest she consult an attorney in all 3 states, starting with Michigan.

Good, but expensive posting.

 

[Angry Beavers]

contact WV counsel and find out what it takes to establish residency in that state;

does the order from the DV stop the husband from coming in contact with her or the kids?

 

[Walton Goggins]

contact WV counsel and find out what it takes to establish residency in that state;does the order from the DV stop the husband from coming in contact with her or the kids?

 

[Walton Goggins]

Residency Requirements for Divorce in West Virginia

West Virginia has its own divorce laws regarding who is eligible to file for a divorce. Each state protects its jurisdiction and makes sure the appropriate laws are applied to the appropriate cases. To prevent your case from being dismissed, make sure you meet the West Virginia residency requirements. The most common mistake people make is believing they must divorce in the state in which they were married. This is simply not true. Most divorce cases throughout the United States are filed in the county in which the filing spouse resides.

West Virginia Filing Requirements: In order to file for a divorce in West Virginia, residency requirements must be met for the court to accept the case. If the court discovers it does not have jurisdictional rights to hear the case it will not be accepted or it will eventually be dismissed. The requirements are as follows:



In an action for divorce at least one of the spouses must have been a resident of the state for at least 1 year, except if the marriage took place in West Virginia, the 1 year residency requirement is waived.

The divorce shall be filed as follows: (a) If the respondent in an action for divorce is a resident of this state, the petitioner has an option to bring the action in the county in which the parties last cohabited or in the county where the respondent resides. (b) If the respondent in an action for divorce is not a resident of this state, the petitioner has an option to bring the action in the county in which the parties last cohabited or in the county where the petitioner resides. (West Virginia Code - Sections: 48-5-201)

Copyright Notice: The above synopsis of West Virginia residency requirements for divorce is original material which is owned an copyrighted by Divorce Source, Inc. This material has been adapted from applicable state laws and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. Violation of this notice will result in immediate legal action.

If you discover that you DO NOT meet at least one of the above residency requirements, you can consider the following 4 options:

1. Do not proceed with a divorce and attempt to save your marriage.

2. Establish residency in West Virginia for the period time set forth above (this does not mean you have to wait to begin the process of getting your documents).

3. Have your spouse do the filing if he or she meets the necessary residency requirements for West Virginia.

4. Choose another state in which you or your spouse may meet the residency requirements (all state residency laws are unique, so be sure to check the state in which you were married as a potential option).

 

[Walton Goggins]

Unless her lawyer can convince a judge that the father is a threat/danger to the children the she'll have to stay in the county where they are residents when they divorce. If the father fights and gets a great lawyer then I wouldn't bet that she'll be able to leave with children since this isn't in the best interest for the children. Now, if he's been charged with harming the kids then her chances are much better.

 

[george]

Thanks for the help guys. She has been in contact with an attorney. Obviously, complicated issue so not sure what next step is, but they are helping her figure that out. She does have a protective order against the husband. It does not cover contact with the kids at this point, but the police report does indicate that he resisted arrest with one of the infants on the couch preventing them from restraining him until a family member could remove the infant, so she (attorney) believes that they may be able to extend the order to include the kids. Today, niece is working on getting HUD housing and establishing herself as a resident.

Thanks again.

 

[Walton Goggins]

Thanks for the help guys. She has been in contact with an attorney. Obviously, complicated issue so not sure what next step is, but they are helping her figure that out. She does have a protective order against the husband. It does not cover contact with the kids at this point, but the police report does indicate that he resisted arrest with one of the infants on the couch preventing them from restraining him until a family member could remove the infant, so she (attorney) believes that they may be able to extend the order to include the kids. Today, niece is working on getting HUD housing and establishing herself as a resident.Thanks again.

Unless the father poses a danger to the kids, that's pretty #####y for the mother to try and not have the father in their kids lives, don't you think? If this was reversed and the mother was not abusive towards her kids, would you think it's totally OK for the father to try and deny the kids from seeing their mother?

 

[george]

Thanks for the help guys. She has been in contact with an attorney. Obviously, complicated issue so not sure what next step is, but they are helping her figure that out. She does have a protective order against the husband. It does not cover contact with the kids at this point, but the police report does indicate that he resisted arrest with one of the infants on the couch preventing them from restraining him until a family member could remove the infant, so she (attorney) believes that they may be able to extend the order to include the kids. Today, niece is working on getting HUD housing and establishing herself as a resident.Thanks again.

Unless the father poses a danger to the kids, that's pretty #####y for the mother to try and not have the father in their kids lives, don't you think? If this was reversed and the mother was not abusive towards her kids, would you think it's totally OK for the father to try and deny the kids from seeing their mother?

I should elaborate. She is okay with him seeing the kids in a supervised manner and visitation. I believe the attorney is trying to use the arrest info to make sure she can maintain custody and move to WV as they never really established residency in Ohio (they were living with his parents). He has never harmed the kids in any way. However, he would not stop resisting/fighting the police even when they told him to stop because one of the babies was on the couch. This is the 2nd time in 6 weeks, that he has assaulted her, so she has legitimate concerns about his temper.

 

[ROCKET]

Thanks for the help guys. She has been in contact with an attorney. Obviously, complicated issue so not sure what next step is, but they are helping her figure that out. She does have a protective order against the husband. It does not cover contact with the kids at this point, but the police report does indicate that he resisted arrest with one of the infants on the couch preventing them from restraining him until a family member could remove the infant, so she (attorney) believes that they may be able to extend the order to include the kids. Today, niece is working on getting HUD housing and establishing herself as a resident. Thanks again.

Unless the father poses a danger to the kids, that's pretty #####y for the mother to try and not have the father in their kids lives, don't you think? If this was reversed and the mother was not abusive towards her kids, would you think it's totally OK for the father to try and deny the kids from seeing their mother?

I'm all for letting the guy be involved in his kids lives BUT when you beat the crap out of their mother in front of them (twice?) I question whether the guy is stable enough to take care of kids. Let's not confuse this pos with some guy getting hosed by the system of which there are many.