Often times in divorce, when a Petition for Dissolution is filed, a judge may issue a Standing Temporary Order for Dissolution of Marriage. Within this order, among other things, the parties are ordered that “neither party may remove the children from their current residence without written agreement of both parents, or an order of this court as allowed by Florida Statute 61.13001.” If after receiving one of these standing orders in your case, if your spouse has violated the order by taking your children away from their current residence with the intent to permanently reside somewhere else, speak to your attorney about filing a motion to hold your spouse in contempt.
In emergency cases, where a child’s health, safety, life, and/or welfare are implicated, the Court is permitted to act on an interlocutory (i.e., temporary) basis to preserve the best interests of a child. Smith v. Crider, 932 So.2d 393 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2006). In some cases, where time is of the essence, the court may even grant relief on an ex parte basis (i.e., a decision decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present). There are many factors involved in such a situation, as well as rules of procedure that need to be followed. The burden of the moving party in such an emergency motion is to provide a showing of “an emergency situation, such as where a child is threatened with physical harm or is about to be improperly removed from the state.” Such emergency relief can be obtained by filing an Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief.
If you, or someone you know, is in need of emergency relief or even support from the court in making another party comply with a court order, it is strongly recommended that you seek out a competent legal professional to help you through this process in order to obtain the necessary remedy needed.