Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Childs father and I had a verbal agreement to split child's life half and half for school years since first grade with no child support and have followed that plan for 14 years. My son was to return to me (his mother) for highs school and that would finish the plan. His father (Dade County FL) decided to sign his rights to his mom (paternal grandmother) and she sued him and I for temp custody. I )the mother have won that case and my son now lives in Orange County with me where he will attend high school.
I no longer trust his father, so I need to have a legal visitation agreement filed before I am comfortable allowing my child to return to his father for any amount of time. We had previously agreed to no child support, but I would like to enforce it now to recoup my legal funds lost defending myself in court against his mother. There was a GAL appointed who found his father basically too immature to have an opinion and stated it is in the best interest of my son to live with me in Orange County Fl.
His father is now asking for my son to visit in Dade County. I can not let him go without a visitation agreement approved and filed with the court for obvious reasons. Due to my savings being low because of the previous lawyer and court cost, I have not filed yet here in Orange for visitation. I want to tell him that my son can not come until we agree to visitation order. I don't want to fear him filing in Dade County forcing me to go there again for court. I have the paperwork and we can agree out of court, but since we are not speaking, I'm not certain that is possible.
My real question is, once I tell him my son can not return until we have a visitation agreement, is it possible for him to file for visitation in Dade County, or is he required to file in Orange County because my son lives here? (if this is important, my son lived in Dade County for 4 years before being returned to me in June. We have basically had a regular visitation agreement that was not filed including summers, spring break, holidays and were pretty open to meeting half way whenever the other parent wanted. I saw my son very often)
I don't mind filing myself, but I want him to pay all the costs. It is most important that the proceedings take place in Orange County where I live.
Sorry so long, but I wanted to be thorough.
1 Answer from Attorneys
If you are going to file then file in your county, where the child currently is. The court will not like to hear that you are withholding visitation however I understand the situation.
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