3 states involved - jurisdiction help

[benebuck]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My daughter lives in NC, just since March 2006. Before that, she lived in Louisiana for 6 years. Her dad (the custodial parent) is leaving for military service in August 2006. This is why they moved to NC to be near the base. (another point: I was only informed of this move, 2 weeks before they moved there)...

I am trying to get custody of my daughter starting in August, while the dad is away at war. Problem is, he seems to think I shouldn't get custody. He thinks her step-mom and school there are more stable than moving her here to Ohio with me. Unfortunately, I can't reason with the dad, he's too bitter over the divorce to even be civil with me.

My preference would be for me to get jurisdiction here in Ohio, then get custody of her before August. My 2nd preference would be for me to get jurisdiction changed to North Carolina, where the dad has no attorney or "contacts" to help him. If the original Louisiana jurisdiction holds up, the lawyer down there will screw me over again like the last time (long story short: he's got a lawyer/judge and knows a lot of people).

So here's my questions:

1.) How can I get the jurisdiction changed out of Louisiana? It hasn't been 6 months yet since they moved to NC.

2.) How long does this typically take? Time is of the essence here, since dad is leaving in August.

3.) What's the best way to win this thing, with limited funds? Not saying I have NOTHING, but I also can't out-spend him because his family has money.

Thanks for any help in this matter.What is the name of your state?

 

[Ohiogal]

Where is the original custody order at? There are a few variables here.

 

[benebuck]

the original custody order is in Louisiana, she hasn't lived in NC very long (3 months)...honestly, it seems to me like dad's done a couple things wrong: 1, taken daughter from a stable environment in Louisiana to a less stable environment in NC (no family in NC, dad's going to Iraq leaving daughter with step-mom)....and 2, he did this without my input AT ALL, like i said, i found out about this move 1 week before it happened. He decided to join the military on a whim, because he couldn't find a job in Louisiana after Katrina...but he's never held a job even before that so he's using it as an excuse. So he decides to join the military, and right after he joins they call him over to Iraq...he's acting like that's MY fault. The problem is, like I said in the previous post, I don't want jurisdiction in Louisiana because they have a lot of connections there and I have no chance in Louisiana. Neither of us lives in Louisiana, so I'm sure I can get the jurisdiction changed at least to NC, but do I have to wait 6 months? If so, he'll already be in Iraq.

 

[MomTryin2Improv]

I don't know what to tell you to do, legally, but I will tell you this.

My ex and I had joint custody, he was the CP, and we were to have joint decision-making. He was deployed to Iraq (without telling me AT ALL) and left our daughter with her SM, and after about 9 months of battling about it in court, the judge gave our child back to me FULL TIME PERMANENTLY because of 2 things:

1. Daddy tried to replace Mommy with Step-Mommy

2. Daddy usurped the court's decision to give us joint decision-making.

Try and get your child whether you are in Louisiana or Timbuctoo. It's not step-mom's right to have her while daddy is away. Good Luck.

 

[benebuck]

I don't know what to tell you to do, legally, but I will tell you this.

My ex and I had joint custody, he was the CP, and we were to have joint decision-making. He was deployed to Iraq (without telling me AT ALL) and left our daughter with her SM, and after about 9 months of battling about it in court, the judge gave our child back to me FULL TIME PERMANENTLY because of 2 things:

1. Daddy tried to replace Mommy with Step-Mommy

2. Daddy usurped the court's decision to give us joint decision-making.

Try and get your child whether you are in Louisiana or Timbuctoo. It's not step-mom's right to have her while daddy is away. Good Luck.

This gives me some hope then, thanks. But I'm still not confident I can win in Louisiana...they have (and will) made things up about me to make their case stronger. And since his attorney has been around awhile, and was actually JOKING AROUND with our judge afterwards...it makes me uneasy.

 

[stealth2]

TAnd since his attorney has been around awhile, and was actually JOKING AROUND with our judge afterwards...it makes me uneasy.

And if you had an attorney, s/he would likely be right in there joking around with the both of them. It's called a working relationship, and doesn't mean tht you're getting the shaft. But it does point out why it can be such a crappy idea to represent yourself.