My husband has 3 kids from a previous marriage, the custody agreement is mutually agreed and his ex has refused to agree since Father’s Day 2007. Recently my husband found his kids on Facebook and began to reconnect. His ex refuses to answer calls, and had moved to Hendersonville NC and left no forwarding address, all mail was returned to sender even from the kids paternal grandparents. Since talking to his oldest on facebook since last summer (2012), he has learned his son who will be 15 in May has asked his mother previously to see his dad. Well over this past weekend he mentioned that the time was only 9pm when it was in fact 11pm in NC. When questioned further as to where he was he got offline. He has mentioned he has to hide his conversations with his dad from him mom. My husband did a bit of digging and all 3 kids have had new friends added to their facebook from Phoenix AZ. Leading us to believe that is where they now reside–I don’t think it is legal for her to move out of state with out informing the father who still has his paternal rights, but I am not a lawyer, hence the reason I am here.
Our question is this: Is it legal for her to move out of state she does have primary custody, and the visitation agreement is mutually agreed in which she refuses to agree. She did not tell my husband she was moving, and refuses to allow contact between him and his 3 kids. She filed harassing phone call charges against me in 2010 for calling 6 times in a 10 month span which was prior to my marriage. My husband is afraid to call now because of numerous times she was filed charges for things that he didn’t do. Trespassing, destruction of property, abuse of the kids–all charges were dismissed every time, but the fear remains as she does have her sister “testify” for her. That is how she convinced the judge that she told me after the first call to stop calling her. I never actually spoke with her only her voicemail in which I told the judge. So we feel we have our hands tied. My husband is on SSDI and we have a limited income and can’t afford an attorney, and legal aid in Gastonia will not take custody cases.