Out of State Visitation Rights - Ohio and Florida

by Michael from Columbus, Ohio

Out of State Visitation Rights - Ohio and Florida:
If I live in Ohio and my child lives in Clearwater Fl, what steps do I take to get visitation rights?

My child was taken out of the State of Ohio by her mother several years ago with out my consent to the State of Florida.

She cut off all communication with me and has not let me see my child.

I would like to establish visitation rights with my child so I can be an active father in my child's life. I need to know what steps to take to do this on my own as I do not have money to get a lawyer. All I know is she is living in Clearwater Florida and that is it.

If you could please help me that would be greatly appreciated. I miss my child dearly and think about her all the time and all I want to do is be a good father to her. I currently have three other children that live with me and want her to be apart of that as well. Thanks for you time.

Answer to Florida Court Forms Child Visitation Question

Dear Michael,

This will be a very difficult case to try on your own. We suggest you look for some free or low cost legal resources in your state before attempting this Pro Se. If you decide to try this yourself, there are forms you can file in the state of Florida.

The first thing you must do is find a current address or place of employment so that your court papers can be properly served on her.

You can try some of the online resources available to locate her or you can try a private investigator.

Without her being served, you have very little, if any, recourse. We recommend Instant People Search by Intelius.

A Petition to Determine Paternity, Form 12.983(a) and its associated forms will probably be the way to go. But once again, due to the complexity of a case as this we highly recommend legal assistance.

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