Relationship breakdown - 3 children currently in US but want to bring them back to UK

[Deleted User]

Hello

This might turn into a lengthy post, but it is for a friend and I don't know the legal stance in the US or UK.

Background - my friend is married (both British but have lived in the US for past 11 years) with 3 children 14 year old (UK born with UK passport and green card), 12 year old (UK born with UK passport and green card), and 10 year old (born in US with UK and US passports/citizenship).

HB has not had steady employment now for apprx 6 years (was very senior and earned a lot of money but his age (60) and possibly other issues has meant that his freelance work has been sporadic at best and it turns out that he has now used all of his pension fund and they are £100K ish in debt in the US - they are about to get evicted from their home and the kids school fees haven't been paid for a year plus other debts.

Now, my friend is going to come back to the UK as soon as the kids break up from school for the summer for a number of reasons - she hasn't seen her parents for a few years and one of them is sick and as she has said, at least if we are going to be "homeless" it will be here in the UK and not in the US where they have no friends / family that will help them out. Basically if HB doesn't secure a well-paid job within a short space of time (ie, before they have to go back to school in September) she is considering telling HB that they are staying in the UK and he should join them and start again. However, there is a big chance a) he will not want to leave the US and b) that he will get angry/nasty and say that she is kidnapping his kids.

He is seriously in denial about all of the situation and feels that a great job is just around the corner, my friend is only just discovering all the other debts and "cover ups" that have gone on.

They have sold everything of value, they don't even have money for the flights but a family member has said they will get a credit card and get them back to the UK. None of her family have a lot of money but they will have a roof over their heads.

What is the legal stance on this? She really doesn't want it to go this way but they are well past breaking point and she needs to know where she stands if she feels that her children would be safer and in the long term better off starting again in the UK with the support of friends and family.

I am happy to answer questions (if I know the answer) and give more background if you feel it is necessary. She just doesn't know where to start and I am trying to help. Have any of you been through something similar?

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

Hermia

Has your friend talked to the kids about this? If they have made plans re: their schooling etc they may massively resent having to move. I know someone who did this the opposite way and the kids hated it (especially as their accents made them stand out at school) and all the kids came back as soon as they were old enough which caused a lot of upset.

bouicca21

The US is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. The children are habitually resident in the US. Ergo the US courts have jurisdiction over residency arrangements and yes, she will be guilty of abduction if she brings them back to the UK without consent from her husband or the US courts.

pphillips

If the husband does not agree to the relocation of the children to the UK then I think she will need to make an application for permission to leave the jurisdiction in a US court and she should get some legal advice.

Mojisola

Hermia wrote: »

Has your friend talked to the kids about this? If they have made plans re: their schooling etc they may massively resent having to move.

If it's a choice of living on the streets in the US and having a roof over their heads in the UK, the children don't really have a say in the decision.

[Deleted User]

She has told them that they have to leave their house in the US because the landlady is selling - they know that there are money problems - but no, she has not told them that they might stay in the UK, she doesn't want to throw this all at them at the end of term when they are sitting final exams AND you never know, he might get a job (or win the lottery), in which case she wouldn't uproot them, she would go back to the US.

[Deleted User]

Exactly, no situation is ideal, just the lesser of two evils.

thorsoak

In case they come back and stay back without husband,will the wife be able to get a job? They will not be entitled to any welfare benefits, nor will they be entitled to NHS services without paying for them.

Will her family be able to support them until they get on their feet?

Red-Squirrel_2

thorsoak wrote: »

In case they come back and stay back without husband,will the wife be able to get a job? They will not be entitled to any welfare benefits, nor will they be entitled to NHS services without paying for them.

Will her family be able to support them until they get on their feet?

If they plan to stay in the UK permanently and no longer have an address or any commitments or 'life' in the US then I think they will be classed as resident in the UK straightaway.

thorsoak

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

If they plan to stay in the UK permanently and no longer have an address or any commitments or 'life' in the US then I think they will be classed as resident in the UK straightaway.

But they still will not be entitled to benefits for a period of time unless the parents have been voluntarily paying NI. Parents would have to prove habitual residence.

POPPYOSCAR

Mojisola wrote: »

If it's a choice of living on the streets in the US and having a roof over their heads in the UK, the children don't really have a say in the decision.

Perhaps not.

But they deserve to be told the truth.

Especially the 14 year old.

Can you imagine going on what you think is a holiday to then be told you are not going back.

That is not fair IMO.