I am very confused as to what I can legally do with my son when there has been no custody established between me and his father. My son is 8 months old and his father and I split up when he was just a few months old. We were never married, but his name is on his birth certificate. There has been no custody established, but we have agreed on my ex seeing our son every other weekend and he has been paying me child support willingly. I have met a new wonderful man and we have since gotten engaged. The problem is that my fiance is in the military and is currently stationed in Louisiana. I want to move myself and my son down there to be with him as a family, as I am living as a single mother and need the emotional and financial support. I am wondering if I can legally move my son out of state with me and if so, do I need to give a written notice to his father? I am willing to agree on fair visitation with his father, as in taking our son to see him (15 hrs.) once every few months and letting him have him for the summer. We will only be in LA for 2 years and then we would move back to Illinois where his father could resume our every other weekend agreement. I am afraid though, that if I do this and he files for custody I will end up losing my son because the courts will think I am trying to take my son away from his father, which is absolutely not the case. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
