Questions Related to Child Abduction Law

I have primary custody over my minor daughter and she visits her father during the weekends. But, now her father is threatening me that I won’t get to see my daughter since she visited him during last weekend. What should I do now?

This act of your husband can be considered as child abduction. You should report it to the police as soon as possible. You should provide all the necessary documents which proves your custody over your child to the cops, so that the authorities can start the process of returning your child to you.

How can I prevent my girlfriend from leaving the state of California with our child?

In this case, your legal rights are limited as you are not married to the child’s mother. So, to prevent your girlfriend from leaving California, you need to establish paternity by taking up a paternity test or having your name mentioned as the child’s father on the birth certificate. In California, if paternity is established, you both have equal custody rights of the child. If your girlfriend flees with the child, it would then be considered as child abduction. However, you can file for custody of the child in California which would force the girlfriend to return to the state in order to deal with the visitation or custody arrangements.

Will a court grant custody of a child to the mother who often travels to Jamaica for work or it would allow the custody to the father who stays in the country permanently?

Usually the custody is granted to a parent who stays in the state or the country. But it may vary as it depends on some other factors as well. Custody might go to the parent who is deemed to be more fit to take care of the child. Even if the custody is granted to the mother who keeps travelling abroad, she will have to comply with the custody orders. Since there are no treaties regarding international parental abduction between the United States and Jamaica, you can bring this matter before the court in order to deny custody rights to the mother.

I took my children to the United States for a vacation while my husband stayed back in Ireland due to mental issues. Now, will it be considered as child abduction if I decide to stay back in the United States?

As defined by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, it would be considered as child abduction under the category of parental abduction if you decide to stay back in the United States with your children. The treaty says that any child who is removed from his or her homeland by wrongful acts, should be returned to the homeland. Now, since the United States and Ireland are both parties to the treaty, your husband can file a petition asking for the children to be returned. And once he does this, you would have to return to Ireland along with the children and you could be charged for parental abduction as per Ireland law.

I am the primary custodial parent of my child. Can I be charged with parental abduction if I don’t send the child to her mother for visitation?

No, you can usually not be charged for parental abduction if you deny the visitation since you are the primary custodian . But you may be charged with not complying with court order pertaining to the visitation schedule. You might have a problem if the divorce order states that you should deliver the child to mother as per the visitation schedule. However, there is no problem at all for you if the court order does not clarify who needs to deliver the child to the mother for visitation.

Issues related to child abduction can have serious legal implications. Abduction in any form, either by a parent or by a stranger, attracts punishment as per the sate law. If you have any questions over this issue, you can ask a criminal lawyer to help you.

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