quote:
Originally posted by frustr8ed
i am currently married and we have been living in NC for 6yrs now. We have a 7yr old son together. My marriage is very rocky for many reasons but I am trying to keep it together. However, during a lot of the arguements, my wife threatens to take her stuff and our son to New Mexico where my wife is from. Can she do this legally? I have a very good job here in NC and would be hard pressed to find anything close to it out there.Thanks!
Until custody is decided, NC will have jurisdiction over child custody and a NC court has the right to order that the children remain in NC. What this means, is that if she were to leave the state without your consent, you can seek help from the Court to order their return to North Carolina.
So many families have been faced with this question. First, the Court will always seek to do what is in the children’s best interests. Second, custody has two main considerations (where the kids will spend their days and nights and legal decision making). Assuming you are both fit and proper parents, and believe me the standard for fitness is not too challenging, you will each have legal decision making.
As for where they will reside, that is difficult. Both parents want access to parenting and the one with the children residing with them may want to move far away. What is the other parent to do? First, ask the other parent to consider the two of you consulting with a child specialist (psychologist). You do not have to attend the meeting at the same time, if either of you feels uncomfortable. You do however, want to discuss our situation and get their opinion about what type of visitation schedule would be developmentally appropriate for your children. If you choose not to take the specialist opinion or otherwise cannot agree, either of you can seek a Court