Hi there, my brother and his ex wife have been divorced for 3 years now. She has remarried. The ex-wife is very contentious and aggressively tries to hinder his visitations and frequently threatens to witthold the child to exercise control over him. He remains unmarried and has been moving slowly with his girlfriend of 2 years for the sake of the child. They decided to take the relationship to the next level and he moved into her residence recently. The girlfriend does not want any drama from his ex and doesn’t want her address known to the ex-wife. The ex-wife is aware of his recent move (which is 1/2 mile from his previous address) and is now withholding the child because he will not give the physical address of where he is living now. He has always been very responsive to her requests via email, text, phone and the she even has his work address and contact info where he can be reached. He pays his child support regularly and provides health insurance for the child. Is he legally required to provide the girlfriend’s address where he is now living? He just wants to avoid the continual drama from the ex who has been known to drive-by, call the police for well checks, make threats, etc. to harrass him and he wants to protect his new relationship. Is she justified in withholding the child from visitations with him over this?
Generally both parents are required to keep the other informed of their current address. This is because both parents have the right to know where their child is when the child is not with him or her. Your brother’s custody court order may have this requirement in it.
However, unless the court order specifies otherwise, the mother cannot withhold the child for scheduled custodial time with the father because the father has not provided his new address.
Anna Ayscue
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest
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