How can I locate my daughter after her mother moved her to Puerto Rico without custody agreements?

Q. I have been trying to locate the mother of our daughter for five months. She took our daughter out of school and reportedly moved to Puerto Rico. I’ve been sending weekly documented payments, facing financial hardship earlier this year which affected the payments. I’m not on child support, and couldn’t locate them in Puerto Rico, with no help from authorities there or in my area. No legal custody agreements existed before they left. I’ve tried contacting legal counsel and the court for custody, but they say they can’t help as she doesn’t live here anymore. How do I proceed to locate my daughter and resolve this issue?

A. You would need to hire a P.I. in an attempt to locate her. Neither the Courts nor lawyers can assist you with that process. bear in mind, however, that if they’ve been residing in P.R. for more than 6 months, then P.R. may have jurisdiction over any custody issue. Schedule a consult with a NYC Child Custody Attorney for a full assessment.