MaryCD1204
New Member
Hello.
I'm a single mom who lives in Boston, Mass., with a 14-year-old son. I have planned for over a year to move with him to Florida in August and be near my parents and other family, and in order to provide a much safer environment. The child's father, whom I never married, is suddenly (and at the last minute) threatening to block the move. He has previously given me his verbal permission for me to take him to Florida. I've had multiple restraining orders against this man in the past.
We share legal custody, but I have sole physical custody of my son. For the past 2.5 years, the court granted his father supervised visits and supervised phone calls. However, he's shown little effort or interest to see our son, and, in fact, has canceled several visits at the last minute. He has seen him no more than four times this calender year, despite living within 5 miles of my residence.
He is demanding unsupervised visits with our son before we move, or he vows to take legal action to prevent us from moving out of state. He owes our son upwards of $20,000 in child support arrears going back to 1995. Since 2005, my son receives Social Security Disability Insurance from his father, so he's left paying only $7 per month in child support.
I am convinced he is threatening this action out of spite towards me, and not because he cares to see his son. However, I do understand that sounds like a subjective opinion.
I returned from probate court today and filed a modification to the custody agreement. Our court date is scheduled for late next month.
I suppose my ultimate question is: Does this man have legal recourse to stop this move we've planned for some time, especially with fall school enrollment requirements so imminent?
Any help or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
...
Respectfully, "Justin's Mom"
I'm a single mom who lives in Boston, Mass., with a 14-year-old son. I have planned for over a year to move with him to Florida in August and be near my parents and other family, and in order to provide a much safer environment. The child's father, whom I never married, is suddenly (and at the last minute) threatening to block the move. He has previously given me his verbal permission for me to take him to Florida. I've had multiple restraining orders against this man in the past.
We share legal custody, but I have sole physical custody of my son. For the past 2.5 years, the court granted his father supervised visits and supervised phone calls. However, he's shown little effort or interest to see our son, and, in fact, has canceled several visits at the last minute. He has seen him no more than four times this calender year, despite living within 5 miles of my residence.
He is demanding unsupervised visits with our son before we move, or he vows to take legal action to prevent us from moving out of state. He owes our son upwards of $20,000 in child support arrears going back to 1995. Since 2005, my son receives Social Security Disability Insurance from his father, so he's left paying only $7 per month in child support.
I am convinced he is threatening this action out of spite towards me, and not because he cares to see his son. However, I do understand that sounds like a subjective opinion.
I returned from probate court today and filed a modification to the custody agreement. Our court date is scheduled for late next month.
I suppose my ultimate question is: Does this man have legal recourse to stop this move we've planned for some time, especially with fall school enrollment requirements so imminent?
Any help or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
...
Respectfully, "Justin's Mom"
