Child Custody & Married Father

by Ann from Florida

If I had a child from a married man in the military, what are my chances of getting full custody of my child? I would like to move out of Florida to Texas to be closer to my family as I do not have family here. Our child is 2 months old.

The father is likely to get orders in 1.5 more years which will end in a relocation out of Florida anyway.

Also, since he is married to another woman, I have no intention on moving to where he gets sent to next.

He is on my child's birth certificate. I know he is not going to make this easy for me. I do have a great job in which I work from home. So me moving to Texas would not have an impact on my ability to financially care for my child.

Answer to Florida Child Custody Question

Dear Ann,

As far as custody of your child, I don't think there is an issue here.

As it is, you already have custody because the baby lives with you.

Unless the biological father has asserted his parental rights, for instance, by filing a Petition for Paternity, or if there is a court order on record, I don't think you are under an official obligation to serve him through a normal court process.

Have a look at Florida Statute § 61.13001 for the law on relocation with children, and speak to a lawyer for legal advice for your situation.


As far as I know, you can move wherever you want, and whenever you want. Since you are thinking about moving beyond the "50 mile" rule, as a good faith gesture, you could still try to work out a visitation agreement with the father.

But, not coming to an agreement does not keep you from moving on with your life. It would be up to him as the biological father to force the issue in court by filing for his parental rights.

Have you established child support already? If not, it might be in your and your child's best interests to file a Petition to Determine Paternity yourself.

You can file a proposed long-distance Parenting Plan along with this petition, and have all of these issues settled at one time. Just a suggestion.

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