Legal Question in Family Law in Maine

Re: Child custody during seperation

The short answer is yes. Since there is no order in effect, you each have equal rights with respect to your child and therefore, there is nothing stopping him from taking your child out of the state without your permission (or stopping you, for that matter, from doing the same).

Generally speaking, however, if he were to take your child out of state permanently, without your consent, he could potentially be setting himself to lose his parental rights. It is unlikely that he would be able to file a legal proceeding in another state. The general rule is that such an action must be brought in the child's "home state," and there is typically a 6-month residency period before the child considers the new state their "home state."

Therefore, if your husband did, effectively, abduct your child, you could file an action here in Maine for a divorce or judicial separation and have him ordered to return the child to you pending the final outcome of the litigation.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.