Child abduction?

Android07

My wife emigrated to England few years ago. We then had a child. When the child was six months, she told me she and our child had appointments at my surgery. I dropped them off and then she called me to say she is not coming back and then she disappeared with our child. I have since not heard from her and it has been a few years.

Many advised me to apply for a child contact order but I did not go down this route as it costs £30k and takes 6 years on average. My wife also never came after me for child mainteanance.

I then divorced her in her home country where I had married her.

I have recently learned that my wife has gone abroad to her home country with our child. I was not aware of this and obviosuly she never contacted me to say she is going abroad.

Now, can this be classed as child abduction? Who should I report this to? The Old bill or to the court?

Savvy_Sue

What are you hoping to achieve?

If you didn't use any legal channels at the time, I'm not sure you have many avenues open to you now.

elsien

Some more background.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6328506/estranged-wife/p1

What do you expect the police to do? You made a decision not to try to re-gain access to your child while your wife was still in the UK and now she’s not even in the country it seems extremely unlikely that anyone is in authority is going to follow it up now. Am I correct in remembering that she had no right to remain here anyway so what did you expect her to do?

Devongardener

The story has changed from your original post where you say you arranged the doctors appointment then she disappeared, now you say she she did it herself.  

If you had divorced in the UK, there would have been a financial settlement for you wife and child, and arrangements for you to have contact with the child, if the family courts decided it was appropriate.  Those arrangements would have included a clause regarding whether the child could be removed from the UK.    However as you divorced in another country, it seems to those protections don’t apply. So there is no legal redress in this country and it’s not child abduction in any sense.   

Presumably the overseas divorce didn’t award your wife the rightful split of financial assets that a UK court would have done.

Android07

Do we have any legal experts on here?

elsien

Android07 said:

Do we have any legal experts on here?

You need to pay a solicitor for that.
I could say I was a legal expert, and you would have no way of knowing if that was correct or not. 

You are coming across as wanting to take revenge on your ex-wife, rather than trying to get contact with your child.

HampshireH

Android07 said:

JReacher1 said:

They say you can’t put a price on a father’s love for his child. Turns out you can and it’s £30k…

Why should I spend 6 years running back and forth between the courts and spending £30k to see my child when my wife shouldn't have left with the child? The mum an just walk out and as a father, I have to keep running around? What would you lot have said if I, as the father took off with the child?

But anyway because any parent who wanted to be involved in theirs child's life would make some effort to do so. Doesn't mean 6 years and 30k

Your post here doesn't indicate any effort was made.

You could have reported your child as a missing person, you could have applied for a prohibited steps order to prevent her removing the child from the country without a court order.

What do you want now? Your child in the UK to solo parent it even though they have no idea who you are? Courts wouldn't grant that.

Do you have parental responsibility?

Android07

Thank you everyone. You have been of great help.

JReacher1

Android07 said:

JReacher1 said:

They say you can’t put a price on a father’s love for his child. Turns out you can and it’s £30k…

Why should I spend 6 years running back and forth between the courts and spending £30k to see my child when my wife shouldn't have left with the child? The mum an just walk out and as a father, I have to keep running around? What would you lot have said if I, as the father took off with the child?

It’s your kid. You should really do everything you can to make sure you are both present in your child’s life and support them financially. 

Obviously we don’t have the full story but you seem to have made almost zero effort to be a father to this child. It is not too late though, go to see a solicitor and see how you can get back into your child’s life.

_Penny_Dreadful

Android07 said:

JReacher1 said:

They say you can’t put a price on a father’s love for his child. Turns out you can and it’s £30k…

Why should I spend 6 years running back and forth between the courts and spending £30k to see my child when my wife shouldn't have left with the child? The mum an just walk out and as a father, I have to keep running around? What would you lot have said if I, as the father took off with the child?

You don’t know that it would have cost £30,000 and taken 6 years. You have anecdotal evidence from a sample size of 1 and appear to have used that as an excuse to do SFA. I don’t think your ex-wife has abducted the child and had the shoe been on the other foot where the ex-husband had left with the child I expect the advice would have been very similar to your previous thread and if the mother didn’t follow up then the father probably hadn’t abducted the child either. 

london21

Could have made a lot more effort.

Other people's stories and examples does not mean that will be your experience.

Hopefully not too late now.