I have been exchanging texts and emails with a woman who lives in NC. She has children living with her. She has been separated for approximately 4 years. Her husband lives elsewhere and rarely interacts with the children. Are there any laws to prevent her from leaving NC and moving to another state with her children? If she has been the de facto custodian, would this limit his parental rights?
There is nothing limiting his rights if she doesn’t have a custody order or file a petition to terminate his parental rights.
Custody jurisdiction is appropriate in NC. If she doesn’t file a complaint here, he could file a complaint for custody and claim she is fleeing the jurisdiction. It sounds like it is unlikely that will happen.
Please allow me to clarify my question. Can one spouse unilaterally decide to take the children and relocate to another state? What are the potential consequences of doing so?
If there is not a child custody order in place, then there is nothing stopping her from removing the children from the state except the fear of him filing an emergency custody action based on her leaving.