Leaving a Marriage & Relocating with Children: Legal & Safety Advice

Question
can I do this? He is squatting and I am not leaving either. I want to go back home to florida and I now reside in NC. I am pretty much paying all the bills and if I leave i will move in with my father and his wife until I find a job. my husband just doesnt get that it is through.  He is grasping at all straws to the point he is GPS tracking me and I found a voice recorder in my car.  Please let me know what I can do that wont hhurt me or the kids

Answer
Hi Kellie~

As long as you are legally married you can move with the children anywhere and he can't do anything about it.  Unless there is a court order barring you from leaving the state with them.  Once you're there and settled in FL you can file for a divorce from him.  You'll have to wait about 30-90 days before you can do this though.  The reason being is that states want proof that you're a legal and permanent resident of the new state (so that can see you have a residence set up, a job, etc).  It can be rather difficult to divorce someone from another state, but it's not impossible.  It can just take a little longer to sort things out, agree on stuff, that kind of thing.  The good thing is when/if you file there in FL if he doesn't show up and respond to the divorce, you'll be granted a divorce by default, which means that you'll receive everything that you've asked for in the divorce process within reason, of course.  Which would be child support, custody, possessions, etc.  He also can't refuse to sign the papers and give you a divorce, what a lot of ppl fail to understand is that you don't need permission from a spouse to divorce one another.  A judge can/will grant a divorce on the right terms.