jurisdiction SC/TX

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vanzantrdh

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I have been living in texas for 1 year now. I moved here from SC. while in sc my daughters father took me to court for custody. we seperated when my daughter was 1 year old. we were never married and the only reason he took me to court(3 years later) was because i moved in with my fiance. (in sc you can not have over night visitors of the oppisite sex unless they are realted by blood or marriage) i obviously did not know this! soooo my fiance and i got married. i ended up spending over $15000 in attorney fees. i was awarded Full custody w/ child support. he was given Visitation and that was all! now that i have moved to texas he is taking me back to court for joint custody and wants child support lowered. i have been paying for all of my childs flights to and from sc (per judges order until final hearing) and i have also been flying to and from sc for court hearings/mediations. a final hearing was set for this nov in sc. my question is can i have jurisdiction moved from sc to texas since we have lived here for over 1 year now?
 
On what basis is he actually wanting to change custody?

You've been there a year - it's far too late to use the relocation as a reason to modify custody. I'm not seeing what has changed in the last year?

With regards to jurisdiction, you likely cannot change that since Dad still lives in the state where the current orders originated.

(Unless Dad - and the State - agree with relinquishing jurisdiction to Texas).
 
He actually tried to keep the child from leaving sc. his reasoning for taking me back to court was a change in circumstance. but i knew i was going to move so i had my attorney put the disclamer in that if either party moved then we had to give the other party 30 days notice. i gave him the notice but instead of us mediating, he hired another attorney to gain custody. i am currently still paying my attorney from the last 4 years of legal fees so when i go back to the final hearing in nov i will pretty much be representing myself....i just dont think that joint custody is in the best interest of the child. i think in sc both parties have to agree on joint custody in order for the judge to order it. is this true? i am the one who has everything to lose whereas he has everything to gain....
 
OK we need a timeline.

When did you move, and when did Dad actually file?

Did you have Dad's or the court's permission to relocate before you did so?

What EXACTLY is Dad asking for? A 50-50 timeshare?
 
We moved in may 2010. i gave him notice of the move in april 2010.
court order was for us to mediate (within 30 days) if either party moved
if neither party came to an agreement in mediation then i would not be held in contempt of court for not following visitation guidelines
he did not want to mediate, instead he served me papers (going back to court)
my attorney said go ahead and move to tx.... judge agreed i could stay in tx
dad was given summer and all school breaks for visitation
i was ordered to pay for all of childs transportation to and from sc until final hearing
i was told that nothing would change if i give him joint. it's just to "make him feel better" (exact words from attorney)
but it should be in the childs best interest and i assure you it is only a power trip for him and not in her best interest
either way visitation would remain as it is now
i want....50/50 costs in transportation
he wants....joint custody and lowered child support
would the judge grant joint custody if i disagree?
 
Well, since you created the distance it's really not fair to ask Dad to pay half of the costs. That's really your responsibility.

But that aside, custody was decided. You're in Texas. A 50-50 timeshare just isn't going to happen - specially if you don't agree.

However, you need to make sure that's what he's asking - "joint custody" does NOT equate to "50-50 timeshare".
 
You might want to Google "UCCJEA", OP.

Dad may have been a little remiss in his inactivity.

A creative person just might be able to legally use the Texas court system to wrest control from the state of SC.

It might be worth your time to investigate a new approach.
 
There are already orders in place and Dad remains in the original state.

If he wants to fight, this could get costly.

I really, really, really think Mom needs an attorney. Because it sounds like Dad IS going to fight, and really, the issue of jurisdiction might be the least of Mom's worries.
 
It would appear that dad does.
However, dad has sat on his "you know what"!

A good attorney never hurts.

Too many people want DIY legal projects.



Proserpina said:
There are already orders in place and Dad remains in the original state.

If he wants to fight, this could get costly.

I really, really, really think Mom needs an attorney. Because it sounds like Dad IS going to fight, and really, the issue of jurisdiction might be the least of Mom's worries.
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Dad hasn't been sitting on his "you know what". He filed before she moved, and the case has been ongoing for over a year if I understand her timeline correctly. The current relocation order is a temporary order. I agree that she needs an attorney!
 
The fact you live in Texas will be irrelevant. I have a similar situation the difference is I got divorced in Wyoming. We both moved from that state. Me in Colorado and her to Texas. Since neither one until recently never filed in either state to change jurisdiction we had to conform to Wyoming law. I was advised by a lawyer that juristiction by default was in Texas since she established residency with my two younger boys there. Had I still lived in Wyoming she would of had to go by Wyoming law. Since your child's father lives in same state as original order then from what I have learned from consulting an attorney about my case is South Carolina still has jurisdiction. You could try to see if you can file a motion for foreign decree. This will allow a Texas judge to decide if he will allow jurisdiction to be awarded in Texas since the children live there. I filed one in Colorado asking for jurisdiction to be moved from Wyoming to Colorado. I was told by a free lawyer hotline in Texas that a Family law lawyer retaining fee was about $5,000 and I could expect to pay upwards of $10,000 to $20,000 in a child custody case. So beware of lawyers. Not saying you don't need one just saying financially it maybe a killer.
 
nnuclear77 said:
The fact you live in Texas will be irrelevant. I have a similar situation the difference is I got divorced in Wyoming. We both moved from that state. Me in Colorado and her to Texas. Since neither one until recently never filed in either state to change jurisdiction we had to conform to Wyoming law. I was advised by a lawyer that juristiction by default was in Texas since she established residency with my two younger boys there. Had I still lived in Wyoming she would of had to go by Wyoming law. Since your child's father lives in same state as original order then from what I have learned from consulting an attorney about my case is South Carolina still has jurisdiction. You could try to see if you can file a motion for foreign decree. This will allow a Texas judge to decide if he will allow jurisdiction to be awarded in Texas since the children live there. I filed one in Colorado asking for jurisdiction to be moved from Wyoming to Colorado. I was told by a free lawyer hotline in Texas that a Family law lawyer retaining fee was about $5,000 and I could expect to pay upwards of $10,000 to $20,000 in a child custody case. So beware of lawyers. Not saying you don't need one just saying financially it maybe a killer.
Click to expand...

Why are you replying to a post that is over a year old?
 
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