Is a lawyer needed to file for Emergency Custody in the state of SC ? -

If a lawyer is not needed. What is the quickest and best way to go about filing for emergency custody if we live in Fl and the child and mother live in SC? What things must be occuring for the courts to hear the case? Thanks.

If you can afford an attorney to represent you in this matter, then you should retain one. In any event, you need to file any such motion for custody with the court which has jurisdiction over this child. I assume that that will be the Family Court in South Carolina in which the matter of the child s custody was initially determined. But, it could be that proper forum is now the Family Court within the judicial district in where the custodial parent now resides be it South Carolina or Florida. This is why you need to consult a domestic relations attorney before you expend a lot of time and effort and money and then find out you are not in a court with jurisdiction to decide the issue of the child s custody. Having said that if this is a matter of the child s immediate safety, you should go to the district court where the child is currently physically located and apply for an order restraining the custodial parent from harming or endangering the child. If a restraining order is granted, then your next step would be to petition the proper court for a change in the child s custody.

You definitly need to hire an attorney!

Emergency custody is an extraordinary proceeding granted under only extreme circumstances. It the situation is truly that dire, then contact child protective services. They have the authority to remove a child quickly.