residential/physical and joint legal custody question

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ohfour238

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a friend of mine had gone to court with her ex-boyfriend over rights to their son. her ex-boyfriend lives in Idaho, she lives in New Jersey. the paperwork she received from the court said it was ordered she have "sole residential/physical custody" of her son and that they share "joint legal custody". after reading online a bit, it's our understand that she is in full control - who, where, and when. and she's just obligated to inform her ex-boyfriend about what is going on in his life (medical, education, etc...).

he very rarely contributes at all with the expenses of his son, she pays at least 95% of all expenses. he is now looking to come see his son for a week in a few months but refuses to cooperate in going to court to set up a timing plan and further more, doesn't want her there at all when he sees his son. so she would just like to know exactly what that court order means so she knows in case he comes here and tries to do something that he's legally not entitled to.
 
Why do mom and dad live so far apart who moved? Is there a specific visitation order set up? I'm confused on why mom thinks he should have supervised visits? How old is the child? Joint custody is common nowadays but there really is not much joint about it since they live so far apart. If mom is the one that moved and created the distance, the court is likelly going to require her be flexible and be fair with the dad but by your post it is unclear what the order actually says.
 
no, he left them to move back to Idaho because he "missed his friends" when their son was 1 1/2 and hasn't been back since (he's now 4 1/2). no, there is no visitation set up, he refuses to go to court to get anything setup like that. their son doesn't really know his father at all so that's why she is concerned with being there for the first few times so he's not alone with a stranger basically. and i just don't understand why he would have the right to see his son when he ditched them and does nothing to contribute or support him, you know?
 
no, he left them to move back to Idaho because he "missed his friends" when their son was 1 1/2 and hasn't been back since (he's now 4 1/2). no, there is no visitation set up, he refuses to go to court to get anything setup like that. their son doesn't really know his father at all so that's why she is concerned with being there for the first few times so he's not alone with a stranger basically. and i just don't understand why he would have the right to see his son when he ditched them and does nothing to contribute or support him, you know?



Because child support isn't a ticket to see the child - it is considered a separate matter to visitation.

With that said, the way the court order is apparently worded Mom doesn't have to allow visitation at all if Dad doesn't agree to her terms.
 
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