Can a mother be charged with parental kidnapping if she takes her child out of state and she was never married to the father?

Answer 1

Yes, if:

- The father retains sole physical custody of the child, the mother has visitation rights and took the child out-of-state during a time she did NOT have visitation with the child; OR

- The father retains sole physical custody of the child, the mother has absolutely no parental rights to the child and took the child out-of-state at any time.

No, if:

- There is a custody arrangement in place, whether as a written or oral agreement between the her and the father, or as an Order for Child Custody, and the mother retains primary or joint (equally shared) physical custody of the child; OR

- There is no custody arrangement in place between her and the father, and there is no Order for Child Custody in place, but she retains primary or sole physical custody of the child and/or the father never bothered to petition for custody; OR

- There is a custody agreement in place between her and the father, or there is an Order for Child Custody, and the father retains primary or sole physical custody of the child, IF the mother has visitation rights and chose to take the child out-of-state while she had visitation with the child;

- Just about any other scenario, other than the two described above under "yes," not otherwise described here.

To sum this up, no, the mother probably cannot be charged with parental kidnapping simply for taking her child out of state. The mother has a legal right to travel wherever she chooses with her child unless a court tells her otherwise. In fact, the mother may move out-of-state with the child permanently if she so chooses, and there is nothing the father can do.

The fact that the mother and the father were never married is completely irrelevant. The only difference between unmarried parents and divorced parents, is that divorced parents usually submit a custody plan to (or, more often, one parent receives an Order for Primary Physical Custody from) the family court, which explicitly outlines which parent has custody and which has visitation. If the parents never married, and the child lives with the mother, she is the custodial parent (which means she has primary physical custody of the child) and she can take the child wherever she pleases, whenever she wishes. The father has no legal claim to or right to control how the mother cares for the child while she retains custody, and the mother is certainly not required to seek permission or even notify the father of her intent to leave the state with her child so long as she retains custody,

Answer 2

It depends, if you are not supposed to due to some court order then YES

Answer 3

Yes, if there are court orders for visitation or shared custody you will need his consent and also the courts.

Answer 4

yes