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Child custody if mom moves before filing for divorce

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Indiana Filer

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Indiana.

My friend's sister decided this past week to take off and move to Kansas with her boyfriend, taking along her 5 year old son. She left her two elementary-aged daughters with their father, her husband, since there wasn't "room in the car for them." Yeah, she's been cheating, but she thinks that's OK since she's always been fascinated with Native Americans, and the boyfriend is a Native American. He's her soul mate. <cue dramatic music>

The husband is a Canadian citizen, but has lived in Indiana since at least the late 60s, if that matters. He's in the US legally.

Mom/wife is planning on enrolling the 5 year old in Kindergarten in KS on Monday. School starts in IN on Monday also, and the girls are already enrolled for this fall.

Mom/wife is planning on coming back to IN in two weeks to pick up the girls to take them to KS to live with her and her boyfriend. When she comes back to pick up the girls, she's planning on filing for divorce from her husband. That is, she'll file if she has the money. She's been sponging off her elderly mother for years, since she and her husband are HS dropouts, and at 40 and 49, can't get decent jobs.

I told my friend that I think that her sister's husband can prevent his wife from taking the kids to KS if he wants to, since they have lived in IN all their lives. They've never ever been out of the state.

Am I correct, or can their mother take them from IN as long as she does it before she files for divorce and child custody becomes an issue? What if her husband files for a divorce before she gets back to get the girls? (I don't think he has the brains to do this, but if he does.)

Personally, I don't think either parent should have these children. Neither one can keep a job, they're on welfare, and have a lovely habit of smoking pot often. Mom would rather spend money on getting tattoos and having her nails done than buying groceries for the kids. The aunts buy the groceries and kids' clothes so that they have them. (Cutting the tags out keeps mom from returning the clothes for $$!) The kids deserve better, but...

So, can she take the kids out of state if there is no custody order because she hasn't filed for divorce yet? Won't IN have jurisdiction over the kids since they're residents of IN, if they are in IN at the time of the divorce filing?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:


stealth2

Under the Radar Member
Both parents have equal rights to the kids, since they're married. Sure, she can remove them from the state if Dad hasn't filed anything.
 

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