Does Mother need Father's permission to take children abroad?

sindy_2

Hi,
A friend of mine is going through some stress due to his wife (theyve been separated 2 years) wanting to move to spain in a few months with their children.

Does the Mother need the Father's consent/permission to take them abroad?...or can she legally just go with them as she is threatening to do?

At the moment there isn't any court orders in place the Dad sees his kids at weekends, this was a joint private decision between the parents.

If the Mother isn't allowed to take them abroad permanently without Dad's consent then what can he do about it?

Thanks

TeetersOnHeels

Hi.
About 8yrs ago my ex OH tried to move to Scotland with my son who was then 5.(We lived in Yorkshire at that time) He was the parent with residency. At the time I had a contact order made through the courts for alternate weekends and one overnight midweek.
My solicitor applied for a prohibitive steps order, and it went to the family court. The judge decided that my son was not to be removed more than 1 hours drive away from me, as I had good, regular contact, and the move was not in the childs best interest. They ended up staying put, and my contact continued as before.(since then dad has emigrated to Oz, and given up residency of my son).
While I will say all is not lost, each case is taken on it's merits, and I would suggest a freebie appointment with a solicitor...

peachyprice

I think your friend needs to seek legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in family law, then hot foot it down to the court to get court order put in place.

I'm sorry but it really really p!sses me off when a divorced parent thinks it OK to move the children to another country with no concern for the other parent. Sometimes in life we have to our own wishes on hold until our children are adults.

There are times I'd dearly love to move overseas to be with the rest of my family, but would never entertain the idea of taking my sons away from their father.

Yes, there ar circumstances when this doesn't apply i.e where abuse etc is an issue, but just because the mother fancies moving to Spain it just not a good enough reason to deprive a father of his children and the children from their father.

(I'll stop ranting now )

NAR

He definitely needs to see a solicitor fast to get her actions halted.

sindy_2

Thanks for all of your replies

DigitalJedi

Sindy, your friend needs to see a solicitor straight away and apply for a prohibited steps order. He's by no means guaranteed to get one and often the ex is allowed to remove the child. It all depends on how old the kids are, what the particular circumstances are, the kids wishes (depends on age) and how regular your friend's contact is.

But don't delay. If they go then he's no chance.

seven-day-weekend

peachyprice wrote: »

I think your friend needs to seek legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in family law, then hot foot it down to the court to get court order put in place.

I'm sorry but it really really p!sses me off when a divorced parent thinks it OK to move the children to another country with no concern for the other parent. Sometimes in life we have to our own wishes on hold until our children are adults.

There are times I'd dearly love to move overseas to be with the rest of my family, but would never entertain the idea of taking my sons away from their father.

Yes, there ar circumstances when this doesn't apply i.e where abuse etc is an issue, but just because the mother fancies moving to Spain it just not a good enough reason to deprive a father of his children and the children from their father.

(I'll stop ranting now )

Agree absolutely. It is just selfishness on the parent's part (unless of course there are violence/abuse issues).

The_Banker_5

Sadly theres a lot of people who use their kids as pawns when a marriage breaks up and there are a heck of a lot of kids who grow up thinking their father never cared for them because the mother made it so damned difficult for the poor father to have access.

lilmisschick

Are they married?

If not, when were the child/ren born? The law changed in 2003 whereby unmarried fathers have the same legal rights as the mothers, before this though- the unmarried mother can almost do as she pleases unless there is court order etc..

If they're married though, she is not permitted to just uproot them. From a moral point of view also, he could potentially do the same on one of the weekends he has them. See how she would feel about that?