DESPERATELY SEEKING HELP!

[xena]

I am being sued for custody of my 6 yr. old child by his father after we moved to Loiusiana from Illinis. This move took place after I broke my leg and had no other options but to give up my home and move to my mothers home in Louisiana . I did violate a visitation order but did try to make other arrangements for his father to see him ......now I am being sued for custody and my legal services agency in Illinois will not take my case and I have no available resources to retain an attorney . I am desperate . I am not willing just to give up .......I must have representation . I don't know where to turn .....the reason I am in this position (having to move ) was because of financial struggles resulting from my injury and now I am faced with this ..........please any advice or direction would greatly be appreciated .

 

[LegalBeagle]

I am being sued for custody of my 6 yr. old child by his father after we moved to Loiusiana from Illinis. This move took place after I broke my leg and had no other options but to give up my home and move to my mothers home in Louisiana . I did violate a visitation order but did try to make other arrangements for his father to see him ......now I am being sued for custody and my legal services agency in Illinois will not take my case and I have no available resources to retain an attorney . I am desperate . I am not willing just to give up .......I must have representation . I don't know where to turn .....the reason I am in this position (having to move ) was because of financial struggles resulting from my injury and now I am faced with this ..........please any advice or direction would greatly be appreciated .

What state did he file the papers in ? How long have you been in LO ? Did you notify him in writting on your intent to move at least 30 days prior to the move ? What state is he in ?

You have to realise that you have just moved his child 5000 miles away and you obviously have no money to pay for his travel expenses to exercise his visitation .. did you think he would be ok with that ?

 

[xena]

No. I did not think that he would be okay with this. I had no other options . He is in Illinois and filed there. I notified him approx. 3 weeks prior to departure . And it is only 700+ miles , not exactly 5000- although I am compassionate to the fact that it probably feels like 5000. I have made arrangements to have my child visit with his father for the upcoming holidays and it is I who is bearing financial burdens for the trip.
I never dreamed that circumstances would cause me to be in a position of having to move so far from his father . This whole situation has not been easy for anyone involved . We have now been here is Louisiana for 3 months.

 

[JENNIFERALISE]

I am being sued for custody of my 6 yr. old child by his father after we moved to Loiusiana from Illinis. This move took place after I broke my leg and had no other options but to give up my home and move to my mothers home in Louisiana . I did violate a visitation order but did try to make other arrangements for his father to see him ......now I am being sued for custody and my legal services agency in Illinois will not take my case and I have no available resources to retain an attorney . I am desperate . I am not willing just to give up .......I must have representation . I don't know where to turn .....the reason I am in this position (having to move ) was because of financial struggles resulting from my injury and now I am faced with this ..........please any advice or direction would greatly be appreciated .

the first question to ask is were you found in contempt of a court order when you violated visitation? If so you have 1 strike against you in the eye of the court!
2nd question a court will ask is if you suffered financially then how did you retrieve to funds to move from one state to another?
The reason why illinoise probably will not take you case is due to your move to another state-however the state of louisiana probably won't take your case since it is not the "birth state". Where custody originated from.
Your best bet at this point is to find out why illinoise wil not take the case (get it in writing) then proceed to call the county bar association in the county of illinoise where papers were originally filed
this is strickly advise and bears no legal grounds

 

[LegalBeagle]

The reason why illinoise probably will not take you case is due to your move to another state-however the state of louisiana probably won't take your case since it is not the "birth state". Where custody originated from.
Your best bet at this point is to find out why illinoise wil not take the case (get it in writing) then proceed to call the county bar association in the county of illinoise where papers were originally filed
this is strickly advise and bears no legal grounds

IL has jurisdiction in this matter and it is not the court that is denying the case, it is legal services. This is because she is no long in the state. To defend this case, she either needs to attend the court date in IL or have legal council represent her. LO would take jurisdiction if the child had been their for at least 6 months with no other action pending. Birth state has little to do with the UCCJA.

 

[LegalBeagle]

No. I did not think that he would be okay with this. I had no other options . He is in Illinois and filed there. I notified him approx. 3 weeks prior to departure . And it is only 700+ miles , not exactly 5000- although I am compassionate to the fact that it probably feels like 5000. I have made arrangements to have my child visit with his father for the upcoming holidays and it is I who is bearing financial burdens for the trip.
I never dreamed that circumstances would cause me to be in a position of having to move so far from his father . This whole situation has not been easy for anyone involved . We have now been here is Louisiana for 3 months.

All you can do is present the facts to the court and state your case. I seriously suggest you retain legal council in IL, even if you have to borrow the money.

 

[JENNIFERALISE]

beagle,
you may not always be right---as Arizona did not take jurisdiction over Pennsylvania in my case. And i resided in Arizona with my son for over 1 year before modifying the court order!!! The 2 states fought and final conclusion was Pennsylvania was the birth state of the child as well as the state custody originated from!!!!

 

[LegalBeagle]

beagle,
you may not always be right---as Arizona did not take jurisdiction over Pennsylvania in my case. And i resided in Arizona with my son for over 1 year before modifying the court order!!! The 2 states fought and final conclusion was Pennsylvania was the birth state of the child as well as the state custody originated from!!!!

Well, there are way to many factors involved to know why your case was kept in PA. In our original posters case, IL will retain jurisdiction and LA will not have a say in the matter.

 

[xena]

Thank you for any respones . I have come to the same comclusions but if I have to borrow $ and from whom I have no idea then I could have borrowed $ to stay in the state originally. I was able to move because I had a sale selling enough of my furniture and belongings to give me a little money to get by and get to Louisiana . This was after 2 months of not working and a cast still on my leg( thanks to the help of my neighborhood) .The rest of my things went into storage in Illinois and still remains because of cost of moving it almost 800 miles. Unfortunanly this type of case could run into thousands and thousands of dollars of which I do not have access to and it's my childs father who knows that this is the case . I feel that he is kicking me while I am down. And I mean literally down . Anyone else have anything else to say ?????I am listening !

 

[JENNIFERALISE]

beagle,
I do believe I just stated why my case was kept in PA.
Futher more if you review the posts I believe you were in agreance with me on why this particular person cannot file
in the state she currently resides in!!
When I asked to find out why Illinoise would not re take her case I was not referring to the state i was referring to the service!
She sould maintain reasoning in writing and seek help through a bar referral service as they offer low-cost referrals.
This subject is closed to debate!!!

 

[JENNIFERALISE]

xena,
I do feel for you---and yes it can be very costly!
I have spent 5 years fighting for my son and have spent an excess of $30,000 dollars in retainer fees and traveling expenses! But I would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

 

[xena]

Okay - as far as I'm concerned there isn't a question about which state this will be fought in . The original action for custody was in Illinois 4 years ago , of which I have sole custody. The legal services agency told me they do not take custody cases.