Can I legally take my daughter to my parents house to get away from a bad situation?

[worriedandnervous1]

Hi, i have an 18month old daughter. I live with her father in a tiny studio apartment. He has made it very clear he no longer wants to be with me. Due to financial hardship i cannot just step directly from his apartment into my own. I need time to save money. I need a support system. I need time to emotionally get back on my feet. Ive decided to go to my parents house and take my daughter with me. Legally can i do this? I live in maryland my parents are 8 hours away in southcarolina...Can i take her out of the state? He has not done any court work for custody of her and i havent been served any paperwork. He has been violent with me before. (Shoving me to the ground and Slapping me across the face so hard he burst my ear drum and i had to get a restraining order several years back. Im worried about his reaction once i say im leaving. He becomes petty spiteful and aggressive flip flopping between tears and pur rage. Is it legal to leave without saying anything or must i inform him that im leaving? I dont want a conflict if i can avoid it. He is emotionally manipulative and if that doesnt work he may become physical like before. Can i prove that he has the capacity to be viloent if he got his records abolished?

 

[LdiJ]

Hi, i have an 18month old daughter. I live with her father in a tiny studio apartment. He has made it very clear he no longer wants to be with me. Due to financial hardship i cannot just step directly from his apartment into my own. I need time to save money. I need a support system. I need time to emotionally get back on my feet. Ive decided to go to my parents house and take my daughter with me. Legally can i do this? I live in maryland my parents are 8 hours away in southcarolina...Can i take her out of the state? He has not done any court work for custody of her and i havent been served any paperwork. He has been violent with me before. (Shoving me to the ground and Slapping me across the face so hard he burst my ear drum and i had to get a restraining order several years back. Im worried about his reaction once i say im leaving. He becomes petty spiteful and aggressive flip flopping between tears and pur rage. Is it legal to leave without saying anything or must i inform him that im leaving? I dont want a conflict if i can avoid it. He is emotionally manipulative and if that doesnt work he may become physical like before. Can i prove that he has the capacity to be viloent if he got his records abolished?

Legally, you are perfectly free to take your child and go to your parent's house. However, her father has the legal right to immediately go to court in Maryland and ask the judge to force you to return to the area with your child. If you are ordered to return the child to the area and you do not, then the judge would likely award dad custody of the child.

If dad doesn't immediately go to court to ask the judge to order you to return the child to the area, and six months pass, then jurisdiction of your child would change to South Carolina and you would be able to file for custody there.

However, that is a huge risk to take. It would be safer to go to court in Maryland now and file for custody and permission to relocate your child to South Carolina. You may or may not get that permission, but if you don't at least you would know that it wouldn't have been safe to move to SC without risking custody.

 

[stealth2]

An additional question(s) - are you married to Dad? If no - has his paternity been (legally) established? If not - that would give you more time.

BUT - if he is abusive? Get out. Even if that means going to a shelter. GET OUT.

 

[worriedandnervous1]

An additional question(s) - are you married to Dad? If no - has his paternity been (legally) established? If not - that would give you more time.

BUT - if he is abusive? Get out. Even if that means going to a shelter. GET OUT.

No we are not married. He took me to court for parental rights awhile ago but since we still lived in the same house the judge ordered us back after a few months. He never said anything more about it and let the court dates pass by.

 

[stealth2]

But has paternity been established? That is important. But really - get out.

 

[worriedandnervous1]

Im not sure. If u mean has the courts recognized that he is her father i dont know. He is on her birth certificate...other then that i dont think anything through the courts have been done

 

[not2cleverRed]

DO NOT cross state lines and go to your parents without a court order permitting you to do so.

DO contact your local domestic violence organization and get their help with an escape plan.

Since you have been to court over his paternal rights before, it is prudent to not risk accusations of parental kidnapping/abduction. If you just leave, he can not only go to court to get the kids back in the state, he can gain ground in pursuing joint to sole physical custody.

 

[bcr229]

https://mnadv.org/find-help/

These are agencies in MD you can contact 24 hours for help and advice. One should be close to you.