What legal actions can a father take if the child’s mother runs away with the child and files for child support?

Q: I have a 9 yr old son whose mother ran off to another state when he was 1 month old, then I finally got to see him at the age of 2 for 1 Month. Since then She will not disclose her location nor let me keep in touch with my son. Yet, she went to court and filed for child support which i have been paying for the past 8/9 years. I asked the child support judge to advise me how can I see my son or stop the child support payments since I have not seen my son & tried reaching out to her through her family to no avail. The Court’s best answer was to go to the last state she is known to reside in and deal with their court system since my state cannot assist me. I haven’t seen my son although I would truly love to but I am tired of this fight that the Courts are unwilling to help me. Advice?

A: The ultimate problem is that the state where the child is now living in probably has jurisdiction to hear any custody or visitation cases. If a child has been residing in a particular state for more than 1 year, then generally that state has such jurisdiction. Thus, I agree that hiring a private investigator at this point seems to be your best shot. First find her, then enforce your visitation rights. In any event, if you’re looking for a  consultation with a Family Law attorney, please feel free to call my Bronx office at 718-725-9600.