Physical Custody

Question: my ex have physical custody of my son can i file for divorce? O.k my ex have physical custody of my son, we aren't legal separated yet is in process because CA law,can i fill for divorce if i live in KY.

Answer: If you have met the residency requirements in KY then you can file there.

Question: does anyone have any suggestion on how to gain domiciliary or physical custody? Im going to court to try to gain physical custody of my two children. I want her to still see them she just moves around alot and my kids are always left with a babysitter while shes out at the bar shooting pool during the school week. We already have the kids 14/14 but i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to go about having my kids live with me during the school week and she can have them any other time?

Answer: I've been through a similar situation and may be able to offer some information. Before the court will make any changes in a custody arrangement, you must be able to prove that the current arrangement isn't feasible. The court may ask for proof of drastic changes in lifestyle, loss of income, and/or other factors that could be detrimental to the welfare of your children. IMO, either parent does need time "time off" occasionally, but the trips to the club, or anything else for that matter, should never take precedence over raising, and providing a healthy home environment for, the children. I recommend speaking to an attorney about this, and finding out what your options are. Many attorneys do not charge a fee for an initial consultation. It would be worth looking into. Good luck.

Question: How many times do we got to go to court and he not show up before the award me sole/physical custody by defaul? the father of my child is not showing up and dont thing he ever will how many times do i gotta go to court and him not show up before im awarded sole/physical custody ?

Answer: All you need to do is file a motion for default, but to answer your question that should have been done the first time, unless he has a vaild reason for not showing up, not using my car broke down, no judge falls for that because there is public transportation available.

Question: can someone who is not a parent get physical custody of our son? our minor son has a baby and has been staying at his girlfriends house to help out.she lives with her aunt now aunt wants physical custody of our son.what can we do?

Answer: You should check with locals in your area that are professionals. Like an attorney. Usually you can get general information, or a free consultation for the first visit. Having said that, the aunt could try and file something with the court but the courts value the rights of the parents even when the parents are young. The well being of the child MUST be met and kept up to the standards. Formula/milk, food, clothing, adequate shelter and running water etc. I don't know where you live, and every State and Country has different laws in place. Just because the girl lives with the Aunt doesn't give the Aunt any legal rights to the child. YOU have rights as the biological grandparent(s). You're son MUST establish paternity in order to exercise his rights, or defend his rights as the father. I'd limit the baby's exposure to the Aunt. Don't leave the baby with her to watch without someone being around. If she wants custody without the reason being the baby's well being, she could be a little out there and you dont want anything bad to happen. Like the Aunt disappearing with the kid etc.

Question: what is the possibilities to win a 50/50 physical custody in a one year old? as a non custodial parent ( i am the father) what is the possibilities to win 50/50 physical custody in a one year old ? im from illinois but i would like to heard different opinions! thank you

Answer: The state that I live in often gives the parents shared custody unless one of the parents has done something really wrong like abuse the child. I live in West Virginia.

Question: What exactly is physical custody? On my divorce papers it mentions that my ex husband will get physical custody, but it also mentions that we will have joint custody but no child support. Can someone please explain to me what this means? Thanks!

Answer: Physical custody means that the children will primarily reside in his care. You would then be entitled to some type of parenting time (the normal is every other weekend, one evening during the week, half of the holidays, etc.). What your paperwork probably references is joint legal custody. This means that the two of you need to work together to make major decisions regarding the healthcare, education and religious training of your children.

Question: Is giving my ex husband physical custody a bad idea? we are separated and currently split our time with our daughter 40/60. we both have joint legal and physical custody still, and are discussing the issue as we are filling out the divorce papers. Our daughter does live with him, but i thought for legal reasons keeping the physical and legal custody joint would be better than giving him physical custody. i'm very weary of giving him full physical custody because i'm not sure how that will effect me legally later on. What complications could arise in the future if i grant him full physical custody?

Answer: i'd keep it joint - always. it's my child too.

Question: how hard is it for a guy to get 50/50 physical custody? I'm a 27 yr old who has a kid on the way and the mom is very difficult. We were never togaether just a friends w/benefits thing. I would like to get 50/50 PHYSICAL custody because I think it would be best for my daughter to spend an equal amount of time with both parents.

Answer: Well, 50/50 custody is kind of hard to get, as most courts favor the mother. Your best bet would be to *butter up* mom to be and *make good* with her. Become her friend, show her you're willing to step up to the plate financially and show her you are responsible. That shouldn't be hard for you if you truly want in your child's life that much. Then discuss visitation. 50/50 would be difficult at first if she plans to breastfeed. Find out her feelings on it and go to court to get it all finalized. In all honesty, if you can't *make good* with her, you will likely end up with weekend visitation and 1 evening a week.

Question: Will a child SUPPORT payment go up or down if they grant me joint legal/physical custody? i live out of state? i was order to pay child support, recently filed for joint legal & physical for my 4yr old.. will my payments increase or decrease.? what are the chaces of the judge granting her full legan & physical custody?

Answer: This depends on your prep work and the difference in earnings/ Go to Dads House in Yahoo Groups. There's a free manual there that will teach you all you need to know, and association with others involved in similar cases. http://Dads-House.org/ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Question: If I have physical custody and claim my son as a dependent can his father deduct his half of medical expenses? I have full custody and pay for everything. I provide the medical and dental insurance. We split all deductibles and copays in half. He wants the receipts and does not want me to put on the receipt that I paid up front because he wants to deduct them off his taxes.

Answer: Let the father file his taxes however he feels necessary. He will get audited, not you. Don' t give him receipts for anything you paid for. You may need them later in a court situation. I was in a similar situation where the father was to pay 1/2 of all medical expenses that insurance did not cover. I have received $0.00 for his 1/2. Change your mind set, and do what is necessary for this child. And don't do him any favors. Whatever he pays for he can keep his receipts and do as he likes with them. His finances are not your responsability. Always pay these expenses with a debit or credit card so they can reflect as coming from your own personal account, or check. You never know what the future brings and you need to cover they @#% now!

Question: How do I get physical custody of my children? Me and my ex-husband have joint custody of our two children, ages 13 and 14, with my ex having primary residence. My son fights with his father constantly and wants to live with me. The 13 year old gets along ok with dad but also wants to live with me. Do I have to go back to court to get our arrangement changed if dad refuses to make the change voluntarily?

Answer: Yes you will have to go back to court. Depending on the requiremants for your state....your kids have a say in where thye live. In my state (VA) the age is 13 for the kids to decide and tell the judge themselves. I would look into this. If your husband does make the change voluntary you will still have to contact the courts and make an amendment to your agreement so it's all legal. Good Luck

Question: Can my son's father take him to the doctor without physical custody? My son's father & I share joint legal custody, but only I am granted physical custody of him. My son is under my insurance & now his father asked for the name of his doctor incase he needed to take him in. I understand why he'd take him in if it was an emergency, but can he just call up his doctor and make an appointment? Wouldn't I have to be there & provide insurance info. and everything else since I have sole custody of him? LEGAL ADVICE ONLY PLEASE!

Answer: Controlling at all? He can and should be able to make an appointment with the dr. I worked in a drs office in college and non-custodial parents, babysitters, and so forth brought children in and made appointments for them all the time. We never asked who was calling to make an appointment who they were in relation to the child. If there was an insurance issue, the child was still treated and they got the insurance info from the custodial parent. Not only that, but if your son has been there before, they will have all of that information on file already.

Question: What is better to fight for when in a custody battle, full legal or physical custody? Im 24 and a single mother to a 9 month old who is a special needs child. My sons dad thinks sinse he just got all his rights he deserves and is going for full custody. He is 28, lives with his mom and is unemployed.

Answer: It's better to fight for what's best for your child - a full, loving, free relationship with both parents, working together for his benefit, despite the fact that they made a mistake in their romantic lives.

Question: What do I need to do to attain sole physical custody of my son in Michigan? Do I need to go down to the court and file for a motion? And if so, do I have to pay $$ to file this motion? And if sole custody is contested by my sons father, what happens then?

Answer: You need a lawyer who knows the proper paperwork to fill out. If your child's father contests it,then the issue has to be decided by a judge.

Question: I am a divorced parent with full legal and physical custody of the children. What do I need to travel? I have my divorce paperwork that shows I have 100% legal and physical custody of my children. What do I need in order to go to Mexico? Do I need some type of notarized letter? Do I need to take my court papers with me?

Answer: Hi, I had the same situation and had a notarized letter from attorney stating that I had full legal and physical custody of my children, and he had the court papers on file in his office. I traveled to Mexico and all over the Caribbean, Canada, etc. and no one ever even asked to see them. Nobody even asked if I was divorced, I guess they just assumed I was traveling without my husband. Kate

Question: I have sole legal and physical custody of my son. His father is in prison for 2 years, can i move out of state? I live in the state of Michigan, my son's father is in prison 2 to 15 years. I am married and my husband and I want to move to Kentucky. His father never had any kind of custody, paternity was determined, he was ordered to pay child support when our son was first born. He hasn't paid for at least 2 years now. He also never signes our sons birth certificate. Will i need permission to move out of state?

Answer: Talk to a lawyer to find out. If you have sole legal custody I don't know why you couldn't move out of state.

Question: I have sole legal and sole physical custody with no visitation declared.? Does my ex-husband have any rights? Can I take her out of the country w/o him knowing for vacation? What would he have to do to change the custody arangement?

Answer: He would have to petition the court - most likely he would be able to get joint legal custody but you'd maintain sole physical custody since your child lives with you. If you have sole legal custody of the child you can take them where ever you want - the legal custody is what keeps you from taking your kids out of the state without notifying the court.

Question: Can I move out of California if I have sole/physical custody? I have custody of my two children. Their dad does not willingly pay child support (having to go through child support services). It was finally garnished. He has scheduled visits, but cancels at least one to two times a month. He doesn't call them on a regular basis. I want to move to TX in a few years due to the fact that I can provide a better life for my kids. Can I go without a fight?

Answer: Unless there is a divorce or custody agreement in place that says you can't take the children out of state, you are free to do so. If he contests it, he can hire a lawyer and fight you in court.

Question: If you have joint legal joint physical custody of your child am I alowed to take him out of State? I have planned to go on a mini vacation with my kids but my ex does not want me taking them out of michigan because he does not like my new boy friend. Am I allowed to? Any websites you could recommend?

Answer: It would depend totally on what is in the divorce decree.

Question: Is it common to have "legal joint custody" for a child while 1 (being me-mom) has physical custody.Is this nor? while I have physical custody, I'm told by my lawyer this is the norm.. Is it? should I be agreeing to this? I live in Massachusetts. I'm just afraid my ex would use this leverage against me or my little one for something...Please respond asap...have court regarding next week..

Answer: There are four types of custody: Sole Custody, which is when the mother has sole decision making power on the child; Joint Legal Custody, which means the child lives with one parent most of the time, but the parents must share decision make; Joint Physical Custody, where the child lives with both parents half the time and they share decision making; Bird Nest Custody, where the child lives in the home and each parent lives therefor a designated period of time, than switch. They share decision making. In your case, you have joint legal, but want sole custody so that you can alienate the child from the father. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\