Ex wants to move child overseas draft
If your ex wants to move overseas with your child, here are some options on what you can/ will need to do.
- Finding out if you have parental responsibility. If you have parental responsibility your ex will not be able to move your child overseas without your written consent otherwise it is child abduction. You have parental responsibility if you are the child’s mother (mothers have parental responsibility from the birth of their child), A father usually has parental responsibility if he is married to the mother of his child or his name is listed on the birth certificate (depending on what part of the UK the child was born in).
- Get legal advice from a solicitor. it is important to seek legal advice from a solicitor as soon as possible as they will be able to guide you through the process and help you later if you need to apply to court. Wikivorce offer a child consultation service here.
- Speaking with the other parent. It is important to understand why the other parent wants to move away with your child, try to get a good understanding of why they think that moving overseas is in the best interest of your child. Ask questions about when and where they will be moving, how much school time they will miss, how your ex will financially support the child etc. Don’t feel pushed to give an answer straight away, allow yourself time to really think it over and decide if its in the best interest of your child to move overseas.
- If you are unsure as to what you want to do, it is a good idea to attend mediation. Mediation can be very helpful as having a trained individual guiding the conversation can keep the conversation calm and on track. Mediation will give you a chance to discuss why you are unsure or don’t want your child to move overseas and explain why you feel this way. Remember mediation is for the both of you so listen to why your ex believes its in the best interest of your child to move and take that on board too.
- If you do not want your child to move overseas but your ex still does, it is likely they will apply for a specific issue order and ask the court to make a decision based on what the court believes to be in the best interest of the child. If you want to stop your child being moved overseas and don’t want to let the court make that decision, you will need to apply for a prohibited steps order. This order is used to prohibit something being done to a child, including taking the child overseas and prohibits a parent from doing something they would otherwise be allowed to do as part of parental responsibility.
Click here to read more about child abduction, here to read more about a prohibited steps order and here to read more about a specific issue order
