Prevent International Child Abduction

We work to help parents prevent their children from being abducted overseas.

The dangers of international child abduction are often not understood and minimized.

Concerned parents are labeled as over-protective, untrusting or even paranoid.

Judges often fail to appreciate the grave dangers that children may face if they are taken to visit the home country of a non-custodial parent.

CONNECTICUT LAW TRIBUNE, AUGUST 2007

OVERSEAS ABDUCTIONS

A GROWING CONCERN

Custody battles include disputes over foreign travel

By JEREMY D. MORLEY

How can one parent stop the other parent from taking a child to visit a dangerous country? It’s a question of increasing concern in many custody matters.

The following tips have been developed as a result of handling these issues on a regular basis in collaboration with local family lawyers across the country.

Collect hard evidence of the dangers that the proposed visitation presents. Any parent who opposes overseas visitation, especially to a parent’s country of origin or current domicile, has a heavy burden of proof.

Do not underestimate what you need to do to prove your case. You must go to court with very strong evidence already lined up. You have to be fully prepared to show that there is a very real risk— not simply a suspicion or a fear—that your child will not be returned.

Collect evidence to show the court that there is a real likelihood that the other parent will not return the child. So-called “red flags” include the other parent having: previously abducted or threatened to abduct the child; citizenship in the othercountry and strong emotional or cultural ties to it; no strong ties to the child’s home state; and a history of instability.

Demonstrate respect for the rights of the other parent. While the language of state laws varies—some referring only to the best interests of the child with others including a presumption of joint parenting — American courts invariably encourage and impose shared parenting in one form or another. A parent who inappropriately hinders or obstructs the other parent’s involvement in the child’s life will not be viewed favorably.

Do not rely on a country’s poor reputation for corruption or danger. Do not take it for granted that a court will know that a particular country has an ineffective legal system or that the country is a dangerous place for Westerners. You must present evidence to the court—whether through witnesses or through documents—that will allow the court to make a reasoned conclusion based on real and convincing evidence that the requested visitation should be denied.

Be calm, not hysterical. You may be panic-stricken at the thought of your precious one being taken to another country, but you should not come across as over-the-top. You should be prepared to explain calmly to the court the reasons for your grave concern.

Do not take comfort in the mere fact that the child is being taken to a country that is a party to the Hague Convention. The Convention is a strong international treaty, but countries vary dramatically in their enforcement of it. Countries such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand typically return children promptly and efficiently, but some act much more slowly (Germany and France, for example) and others act at a glacial pace or not at all (e.g., Mexico, Colombia and Austria).

Do not leave it to the last minute to seek legal protection. While the courts can usually make emergency orders, it is far better to prepare and submit a case well in advance of the scheduled departure date. In addition, a judge will be less likely to prevent a trip overseas that has been scheduled for a long time. ■