My stepdaughter left the state of Texas with my grandson. She is married but they've been separated for awhile now. There is no custody agreement in place nor is there a divorce. Neither parent has filed for divorce. She got fed up and moved to Oklahoma. Can she do this or is this considered a parent kidnapping.

She left with no court orders in place to prevent her from leaving the state. It would not be considered parent kidnapping unless there was a court order in place.

I don't know how much different laws are from NY to Texas but if you leave out of town with a child without a court order that could be a problem. You have to have a court order to remove a child when no one has sole custody as of yet. His rights are equal to hers until determined by the court. If he contacts the police and states he does not know where the child or children are that could pose a definite problem.

Nope, she is good to go. She is the parent. Just keep in touch with her so you can be a good sounding board for her if she needs an ear.
Now in the future there could be a custody thing to consider, in the state of Texas they will work with other states to resolve issues with custody out of state. Go to the Texas website to look at the statutes on family law... very informative, and when in doubt.. see a lawyer.

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Originally Posted by rnfowl

I don't know how much different laws are from NY to Texas but if you leave out of town with a child without a court order that could be a problem. You have to have a court order to remove a child when no one has sole custody as of yet. His rights are equal to hers until determined by the court. If he contacts the police and states he does not know where the child or children are that could pose a definite problem.

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Whoops I meant to disagree there. Sorry, but you are wrong here. A parent can up and leave their home taking the kids at any time. In this case, since they were already living apart, that reinforces it. The only time a parent would get in trouble by moving away is if there is a court ordered visitation schedule that could no longer be followed.

Its possible she might be ordered to return but there is no criminal issue here.