Hi, I am a resident of Colorado but have resided in Pennsylvania for the last few years. I had my child here with her father and she is now almost 2. Her father started becoming abusive toward me (the mother) and I put up with it until about a month ago. He was facing either attempted murder or felony strangulation. Unfortunately, the legal system here barely comes through when it comes to letting "the victim" know what is going on. I was hospitalized twice as a result of the last time he beat me up. I was diagnosed with a concussion twice, and he only spent 6 days in jail since he bailed out.
My daughter was born here in PA, and we are both on the birth certificate. There is no legal document stating anything custody-wise, but she has been primarily in my care. I have provided daycare while I'm at work, and we are currently staying in a shelter. Recently while I was asleep with my daughter, someone tried to break into our home. Instead of sitting around living in fear, I packed up everything, put it in a uhaul, and we went to a shelter about a week ago. Since then, I've decided it would be best if we leave the state. It's not really safe for us right now. Legal advocates are telling me that if I leave without his or the states permission, it is considered parental kidnapping. What are my rights? Seriously? I don't understand why anyone would make it difficult for my daughter to have a safe, stable, secure, consistent place to live. I'd think that with as many warnings as I've given her father, he wouldn't try to pull anything but... You never know.
My daughter was born here in PA, and we are both on the birth certificate. There is no legal document stating anything custody-wise, but she has been primarily in my care. I have provided daycare while I'm at work, and we are currently staying in a shelter. Recently while I was asleep with my daughter, someone tried to break into our home. Instead of sitting around living in fear, I packed up everything, put it in a uhaul, and we went to a shelter about a week ago. Since then, I've decided it would be best if we leave the state. It's not really safe for us right now. Legal advocates are telling me that if I leave without his or the states permission, it is considered parental kidnapping. What are my rights? Seriously? I don't understand why anyone would make it difficult for my daughter to have a safe, stable, secure, consistent place to live. I'd think that with as many warnings as I've given her father, he wouldn't try to pull anything but... You never know.