Can You Prevent Your Ex From Moving Your Children Out Of The Country?
Divorce is emotionally taxing enough; if there are children involved, and then the entire process becomes that much more complicated. A custody battle is not one which any person wants to wage, and yet it is present in far too many divorce proceedings. There are also options to get a divorce online with specific forms.
At the end of a legal fight such as this, the court decides on the division of the child’s custody which includes visitation time, finances and any other factor that impacts the child’s life. Once this has all been tied up in court, partners part ways and move on with their lives. There are cases where people get remarried and may even want to relocate to a different country. This news could wind up being devastating to the other parent.
But, is there something you can do to stop it? Can a parent prevent their ex from taking their child out the country? The answer to this is not as simple as one would hope. It is dependent on a variety of factors, and at the end of the day, the court will always do what is best for the child.
Inform yourself of your rights
Each custody agreement is different. This means that your rights in this instance will be dependent on your situation. Before starting a fight with your ex, saying things that you’ll regret and starting a fight which, you may very well lose, the first thing you should do is consult your lawyer.
Find out exactly what measures you can take and also find out how likely you are to win your argument.
If you have joint custody of your child, then you are not without rights. Your ex would need consent from you to move your children out of the country. Whether this is verbal or written is case specific. This does afford you with some kind of power.
You do have the option of withholding consent, whether this is a wise idea or not is however arguable. On the other hand, if your partner has full custody of your child, then you cannot directly stop them from leaving the country with your child.
Only a court order would succeed in preventing a move of this kind.
What happens if you withhold consent?
If you have decided to refrain from giving your ex-consent to move with your children, there are specific consequences which accompany this. Your ex could merely apply to the court for permission.
In this case, if the court finds no reason not to grant permission, then they will allow the move to happen. To win an argument such as this, you would need to justify as to why this move would negatively impact the child.
What is the best course of action?
This may not always be possible, but one should try to settle the matter amicably between parents before heading off to court. A legal battle could get ugly, and it would most likely rope the children in, which is an occurrence which every parent should want to avoid.
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