I am 24 weeks pregnant. My ex boyfriend and I broke up about 2 months ago. Partly because of his inability/unwillingness to help prepare for the baby, partly because of his lack of inititive, and partly because of verbal abuse. I decided that I would like to move back to Indiana, as all my family and friends are there. I have only lived in Virginia for about 3 years and don't really know anyone yet. I was going to move in about a year because I didn't hear from him til last week after we broke up. But now he's coming back around and I am being told that I need to move before the baby is born so that she is an Indiana resident. What is your advice?
Also, I heard that if you retain a liscence from a state that is your home state and the other parent cannot reasonably ask you to stay. I have had a liscence from Indiana since I was at age 16. I never requested a new liscence for anywhere else that I have lived. I do however have a voters card in Virginia with my mothers address on it. I have lived in Virginia with my mother from Sept. 2010 til August 2011 and then again from April 2011 til now April 2012. In between I was living in Georgia with a friend. I am not on the lease here. Does this help my case at all?
You raise interesting constitutional issue. The baby is not born yet. You have freedom to travel. Go where you have the best support. Get new drivers license and register to vote. After the baby is born you would need to ask court to move.
I agree with the other contributor. You are free to move where you choose. I do not understand from your question the importance of your baby being born in Indiana. I would suggest that once you choose your state of residency you speak to an attorney that handles custody and child support issues.
I agree with the other contributors. You are certainly free to move anywhere you wish at this point. However, the father will have parental rights/responsibilities once the baby is born. It would behoove you to make sure you have an address and way to contact him. Once in Indiana, I would recommend meeting with an attorney that specializes custody and support issues.
For starters, this is not an "estate planning" issue -- estate planning is what you do to make arrangements for what will happen to your estate in the event of your death (such as creating a Last Will & Testament). What you have described is actually a "child custody" question.
As far as the child custody issues is concerned....
1. If you are in Indiana and the father is in Virginia, then this will be a mutli-state case. Jurisdiction for determination/litigation of custody and visitation in multi-state cases lies with the court in the child's "home state" (subject to certain exceptions dealing with emergency jurisdiction situations).
All but 1 of the 50 states has adopted some version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (which includes VA and should also include Indiana). Under UCCJEA, the child's "home state" is defined as the state in which the child has resided for the past 6 months OR, if the child is less than 6 months of age, then where the child was born and/or is currently residing.
So, if you do not want to have to travel all the way to Virginia to engage in a contested custody and visitation battle with the child's father (should one of you choose to initiate such a petition), then moving to Indiana prior to the child's birth would be the better option. Additionally, if you know that you ultimately want to relocate to Indiana, then moving there prior to the child's birth should foreclose the possibility that a Virginia court would not only take jurisdiction of the custody/visitation case but may also include in its final order a provision that does not allow you to permanently remove the child from Virginia wihtout court consent.
Just by way of note (because sometimes people do ask this question), neither parent can file a custody/visitation petition with a Virginia court before the child is actually born! So, there is nothing that your ex-boyfriend can legally do to prevent you from moving out of state prior to the child's birth. He may, however, be able to effectively prevent you from moving after the child is born.
2. There is a separate issue of child support, which is governed under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (or its equivelant, depending on the state) in multi-state cases. Under UIFSA, child support is litigated in the state of the payor parent and in accordance with the child support laws/guidelines of that state as a general matter.
If you do not want to have to come to Virginia to litigate child support in the Virginia court, there is an alternative. You can file an application for child support with the local office of Social Services/Child Support Enfrcement in the county and state where you and the child reside. That agency will then contact the VA DCSE who will then proceed with an administrative support order against the father here in VA.
Please note that there is no guarantee that if you move to Indiana, have the child, and end up litigating custody in Indiana, you would be granted physical custody of the child and/or that an Indiana court might not condition your custody on returning the child to Virginia. However, there is a greater chance of a no relocation provision being issued by a Virginia court if the child is born there, than there is of an Inidiana court requiring you to relocate back to VA after the child has been born and is living in Indiana.
The foregoing is intended as general, basic information on the law of child custody and support jurisdiction in multi-state cases and is based primarily on Virginia law. Each state has its own substantive law and procedures (including agency authority and procedures for child support) and the individual facts of any particular case can affect which law applies, whether there are exceptions that may apply, and what the possible outcomes may be. So, it is a good idea to actually consult with a family law attorney in your area for more specific, in-depth legal analysis.
