TRO disallowing my daughter from removing son from state of CA

[dlarryb]

My daughter resided in Orange County, CA with her son until Dec. of last year. The father also resided in Orange County up until about 10 months ago when he moved to Lemoore (Fresno area) and has made little effort to see his son. They have been apart since Dec. of 2009 and he was charged and convicted of Battery earlier in 2009.

In December, she moved up to Washington State to be with her then boyfriend and they got married on the 21st. He is in the Army and stationed at Fort Lewis.

The father was informed of the move in Mid February. On Monday Feb 28th, the father sent her a text message stating that she should appear at a specific address if she she wants be heard by the court on Tuesday, March 1st and that he was seeking a TRO to prevent her from leaving the state with her son. My daughter attempted to call him to find out what this was about but he would not answer or return the calls.

After discussing it, we made the assumption that he was simply filing for a TRO and that it was just a ploy to get her back to CA. I texted him this and we never heard back.

Today she got served a notice to appear for a custody mediation. Attached was the TRO upon which the father stated he had notified my daughter by phone.

I have three questions:

1. Does the text message constitute legal notification by phone?
2. Is my daughter in violation of the TRO since she with her son and living in Washingtion.
3. Can the father fly to Washington and remove his son?

Thank you in advance for your help

Incindentally, she is seeking legal counsil from the Jag corp. but may not be able to get in until Monday

 

[army judge]

Your daughter needs to discuss this with an attorney.
There could be a problem with service (not notification), but she could end up losing the child or getting herself in deep, legal poopoo.
She should speak with an attorney pronto.
You can't just take children of divorce state to state like cattle.


The other parent has rights whether they use them or not.


I'm not saying any of this is right, but it appears to be legal.

 

[dlarryb]

They were never married and have never had a custody agreement. She offered to forego child support so that he could afford to come and see his son. He had already moved 300 miles away albeit within the state of California.

 

[Proserpina]

She should be prepared for either of these:

A) That the child will be returned to California.

OR

B) That she will be allowed to keep the child in WA, but expected to pay all costs associated with visitation.

There are other possibilities, but this is really what it boils down to.

She absolutely NEEDS to speak with an attorney; unfortunately JAG cannot really help in these types of cases (believe me, I'm going through a VERY similar situation with my daughter and her child!).

 

[dlarryb]

She would be willing to pay for costs of visitation. Either in lieu of child support or simply put all child support payments asside to pay for visitation. We are hoping that the fact that he left the area first will be taken into consideration. Just because he did not leave the state, it shows that he was willing to be separated from his son by a significant distance.

 

[army judge]

It isn't that some JAG officers won't help with these civilian matters, they are barred by federal statute from doing so.

 

[Proserpina]

It isn't that some JAG officers won't help with these civilian matters, they are barred by federal statute from doing so.

I know that - thank you for clarifying for our OP

 

[dlarryb]

Thank you all for replying. On further review, there is no judge signature anywhere in these documents. There is a space for a signature on the page titled "Temporary Orders" which describes the request. Does this mean that the judge did not honor the request or that he has yet to make a decision?

The entire package appears to consist of a summons to appear for mediation and a whole bunch of filings and declarations but no decisions. There is an order to show cause but it does not have a date, time or judicial officer siganture either.

My daughter does not have an appointment to see an attorney until Tuesday so any assistance or opinions are appreciated.