Children are with grandparents but mother has primary

Question: My ex previously abandoned the children with me for 9 months. I then took her back and shortly after, she left with the children and received primary custody. She now has moved 70 miles away for employment but left the children with her parents. At what point does this constitute abandonment again and I can get them? The kids do not want to be with there grandparents and are miserable. I either want her to take them or give them to me. What can I do?

Answer: It is helpful if you provide the jurisdiction in which you live. I suggest that you file a Motion to Modify the custody provision. If your wife has relocated and is not residing with the children that should be a significant change sufficient to put the issue before the court that entered your divorce. I cannot answer the abandonment issue, as that is a State specific statute. In Missouri that would not be considered abandonment based upon the information that you provided. If she was providing no support for the grandparents to care for the children and had not contact at all with the children there maybe a case. However, as the children have a guardian that I assume consented to care for the children it would not be a strong case to bring before the court. You have a much stronger argument with the Motion to Modify physical custody to you.

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