Finding out that your child has been taken to another country by the other parent without your consent is every parent’s worst fear. Understanding the legal mechanisms available to bring about the child’s safe return becomes vital. The left-behind parent can consider two potential avenues to pursue the return of the child. If the child has been taken to a country who is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, a proceeding can be started to seek return of the child and to ensure that rights of custody and access in the United States are respected in the other country. It may also be beneficial to work directly with local counsel in the country where the child is located to seek registration and enforcement of any US orders. This extremely complex area of family law requires skilled counsel with an understanding of both federal and state law.

If the other parent has taken your child to another country without your consent, you may be able to get an order for return from a court in the United States. Whether that order will be recognized and enforced in the other country may depend on whether that country is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Hague countries agree to recognize and enforce orders from other countries except in certain limited circumstances. For non-Hague countries, the question of whether a US order will be recognized and enforced depends on principles of comity which are defined differently throughout the world. Many times, return of the child depends on the successful collaboration of attorneys and courts from both the US and the country in which the child is located. Having an experienced team of legal counsel will be crucial to the client.

International custody disputes present some of the most complex and unique issues in family law. It is very important that you work with a family law attorney who has significant experience with these cases. The first step is to determine if the foreign country is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This is an international treaty that provides specific resources and remedies to help locate and return wrongfully abducted children. It also provides procedures for determining if a foreign custody order should be enforced by another country. The United States is a signatory to this Convention but the Convention will only apply if the other country involved also is a signatory to the Convention. The convention has very specific procedures that must be followed in international custody disputes so it is necessary to work with an attorney familiar with these procedures. If the other country involved in the custody dispute is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, it likely will be necessary to work with an attorney in the foreign country to determine if a U.S. Custody order can be registered and enforced in the foreign country.

A parent seeking to have his or her child returned to the United States needs to work with an experienced international custody attorney both in the United States as well as in the country in which the child is being retained. It is important to determine if the country in which the child is being retained is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. If so, there are specific procedures that need to be followed to initiate the return of a wrongfully retained child. If the foreign country is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, then the parent will need to work with the foreign attorney to determine what other remedies or procedures are available to register and enforce the U.S. custody order in the foreign country.