I live in the state of Washington, 6 years ago i divorced and was given joint legal custody of my two boys, ages 6 and 7. I was a owner and operator of an in-home day care and had been for 6 years. I realized that being confined at home 24/7 was begining to have a bad effect on me, no social life and my vocabulary was that of a three year old. So I looked for other employment and soon found there was nothing in the area. So I dicided to move. I filed a document asking for permission to move with the courts, but my ex replied that i had no work or home for the boys, (of course I wasn't going to just move over with nothing, that wasn't my plan.) So i dicided to move over first and get settled then have the boys move over. Well it has been two and a half years now. So have I given up my legal custody? Of course there is a lot more to it, I think i could write a book. But just to save time I only gave the outlines.

If you have a proper home for the children, you should have gone to court to seek enforcement of the existing order for the children to be returned to your primary custody. Waiting this long, you may have some issues getting custody back. But you can file to enforce the existing order, but be prepared for a counter petitino for primary physical custody. It is strongly suggested that you hire counsel.