filing a custody case even if living overseas

Due to unbearable emotional stress, my daugher and I left the house which we shared with my in-laws. My husband is working and living overseas. He had no knowledge of our leaving because he made a threat before that if i will leave, my child should stay with his mother.

We went back to my old family and after two weeks I got an offer to work in another Asian country. I brought my child where I work now. She is living comfortably here, going to a good Catholic school. She is loved. She is happy

Now, my husband is threating me to file a case against me so he can have a custody of our child. My questions:

1. Can he file a case in the Philippines eventhough he is not living there and I am not in the Philippines as well?

2. Can he get a custody of the child even if he has no physical presence in the country?

3. What are my chances if the case prosper, that I can have the custody?

Thanks

It all depends on the law he will invoke.

We cannot guess what are his counsel's moves and what country will he file the case.

There seem to be no real problem with the two of you except that distance made your hearts grow cold. If this is just the case, i urge you to do your best to settle and save your marriage (not just the custody of the child).

God bless your family!

i don't think his petition has a chance unless he files it there where you are.

Thanks for the replies.

Before I left the Philippines, I talked to a social worker regarding my situation and she advised me to take my daughter wherever I go because if I left her under the care of my own family, my ex-husband will have the ground to file for her custody. However, he has to file the case in the Philippines if my daughter is in the country.

He is making threat about getting the custody of the child and I told him that I know my rights as a mother. I think he is desperate because I am now employed (earning more than him) and he can no longer make my unemployment for the custody.

He sent me emails, disturbing emails. Can I use them if ever a case will prosper?

yes, you can use those emails, if he is going beyond just threatening to do more than file a case of custody.

actually, if he files a case for custody here, you can still answer it from there.

Thanks Atty.

Meaning, he can file the case in the Philippines? Then he has to go home to do the filing? Or he can do it in the country in the where he is now?

If the case paper will be sent to my family's address, can I answer it in the country where I am now?

There has to be some appearance in the court, how could that be made possible?

My apology for being so naive with all of these.

he can initiate the case while he is abroad. but if he wants the case to prosper, he has to come back to testify.

there are also lawyer tactics that can be employed to fight his petition. in the end, even if he wins, there's no way to enforce the judgment unless he files it where you are.

what you will need to be careful of is he does indeed file a petition and you come back here, he can get a watch list order for the child so that she cannot get out.

That's what I have been thinking that he will get a hold departure for my child. Can he do that even there is still no ruling about the petition?

Meaning, if he files , I need to get a lawyer in the Philippines to answer his petition even if I am not around?

yes, he can request for an HDO.

you can choose to ignore the case, but if you want to mitigate risk, i would recommend you do answer his petition with the assistance of counsel.

Thanks a lot.

If he is given the custody (forbids!), would that mean my kid will stay with his family in the Philippines (because he is working overseas)?

My child told him she doesn't want to go back to the province because she is happy where she is now, would my child's opinion would matter in this case?

1) he has to take care of her himself

2) yes, it will matter.

Thanks many attyALL. It's a wait and see for me at the moment.