Q: A Mother and Father of Minor Child was never married, but as the Father in the situation I stayed close to my child and help support the child. The mother and I have lived in Florida where the child was born, and raised most of the childs life. As the father I always had problems with the mother when it came to visitation with the child. So, I got really tired of the mother messing with my agreed time with the child. I stop paying support to the mother and I told her I wanted to legaly do things, so I told the mother I was going to start filing the forms need to make this right. I file a petition against mother in Florida, but the mother moved to Texas without my knowledge, she never received her suit because she leaves the state. A week later she has me served with a suit from Texas.

A: If the child was here for 6 months prior to your filing, jurisdiction of the case is in FL. It does not matter who filed first, or who was served first. As to your question about the child being moved to Texas, unfortunately because you were never married, the mother can move away without your permission. You can request that the court order her to return, but you should do so immediately. i would point out that your non-payment of support for any period of time, and for any reason, will not be looked upon favorably by the court and may be a basis for the court to allow the mother to stay in Texas with the child. In any event, you would be able to establish a timesharing schedule with the child, even long-distance.