mother moved to different state Help 911

[tanyarounds]

I just recently came to Florida from Wisconsin. I have a four year old daughter. Her father and I split up when she was two. He did not want to pay child support , so he went to a lawyer and had an agreement drawn up for us to have joint custody of her. He did not follow the agreement. I wrote a letter to the court in December,2004, stating that he was not following the agreement. As of yet, they have not sent any reply. Her father did not help me in any way, support wise in wisconsin. He took her every other weekend and every Monday. I am seven months pregnant, and was in an abusive relationship with another man. I came to Florida two weeks ago, to my parents house, to get away from that situation. I have decided to stay in Florida. The child's father wanted me to send her back to Wisconsin until the end of August. I told him that she had to be back in Florida by the end of June to get ready for preschool. He said no, and that I was going to jail. A little while later a sherriff called me from Wisconsin and said that we had to come to some agreement, or I would be in violation. I called the child's father back and asked what kind of agreement he wanted to come to. He said that he was going to let his lawyer handle it, and hung up. I'm afraid that if I let her go back to Wisconsin that I won't get her back. What should I do?

[elklaw]

If you are a Florida resident now, file to establish child support and custody orders in Florida. If you do not, he will do so in Wisconsin and may be doing so already. I recommend getting counsel. If you are poor, contact Legal Services or Legal Aid for assistance. Some local bar associations will refer cases to attorneys pro bono.