What Can My Ex Do if I Moved Out of State?

Question by Millie: What can my ex do if I moved out of state?
My daughter is almost two. She was born in PA. He father would come to see her every 3-4 months. (while only living 5 min away from us…) The last time he saw her was July 2012. In August I heard that he had moved out of state. (to LA) So since I had no contact with him, when my fiance was offered a good job in NC in Oct, we moved. It’s been 6 months since he’s seen our daughter, or even asked about her. We were never married, there was never a custody or child support order. Last week my mom told me that there was a notice on her door for a certified letter for me from an attorneys office. I don’t live in PA anymore so I can’t pick up the letter. Lets say it was an order for a custody hearing, how can the father serve me if he doesn’t know my current address? Let’s also say he does some day serve me papers in NC, what type of custody would he likely get? He was in a mental hospital and was in a drug related stabbing (I have proof of both) He also put me in the hospital when I was 20 weeks pregnant but I was scared of him and just said I fell. (stupid, I know. And I know that wont count as evidence.) But I do believe he’s dangerous. Any advise?

Best answer:

Answer by trai
“What can my ex do if I moved out of state?” Depends. He can at least motion to establish jurisdiction the state in which the child was born. Bad for you, if granted, since you’re in North Carolina.

“how can the father serve me if he doesn’t know my current address?” Depends. Some jurisdictions allow for service by publication.

“Let’s also say he does some day serve me papers in NC, what type of custody would he likely get?” Joint legal custody with visitation.

“Any advise?” Yes. Do NOT ignore *any* legal problems. Being in one state does not immune one from legal repercussion from another. Any and all rights to contest/deny/or void any legal action is dependent upon actually exercising them. In other words, if you don’t give your side when it is time to do so, you loose your chance to have one. Which almost always means the other guy wins. In the legal system, everything has time limits.