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Taking Kid out of Country...is it legal?

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Tesha30

Junior Member
From California

If I have physical custody, but share joint legal am I aloud to take our child out of the country on vacation without permission from the other parent?
 


casa

Senior Member
Tesha30 said:
From California

If I have physical custody, but share joint legal am I aloud to take our child out of the country on vacation without permission from the other parent?
No you cannot.
 

tigger22472

Senior Member
Depending on where you're going they sometimes ask for papers PROVING you have permission to take the child/ren out of the country. If you were to take the child/ren out of the country without the permission or notification of the other parent you can be held in contempt and risk losing custody.
 

stepmom65

Member
Tesha30 said:
From California

If I have physical custody, but share joint legal am I aloud to take our child out of the country on vacation without permission from the other parent?
From California also....My experience is: When my son's father wanted to take him to Mexico to visit family and to Canada to ski and vacation, he had to write me a letter, stating dates leaving/returning, exact location (hotels, homes), and the phone number where I can reach my son. This was in our divorce decree. Same went for me when I wanted to take my son out of the country.
 

ENASNI

Senior Member
Best Interest of child

It is also in the best interest of the child.

Short Story, my ex took his new wife and my daughter to Cancun this last
fall for winter break. (With my blessing of course... I wish I could have gone too. :( )

They had no problem getting from USA to Mexico. But on the way back, they asked for my permission letter.

They had forgotten to get a certified letter from me, the birth mother saying it was okay for her to go to another country. They really gave them a hard time and were delaying my daughter from coming back into the USA!
She was pretty freaked out (16 years old). My ex was teasing her saying... "Hey its a good thing you have 3 years of spanish under your belt... you should get along fine here"... It all came out alright, but it was scary for her all the same for a bit there.

Its just the safest thing to do all around.
 
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stealth2

Under the Radar Member
Tesha30 said:
From California

If I have physical custody, but share joint legal am I aloud to take our child out of the country on vacation without permission from the other parent?
Only if you are vewy vewy quiet.......
 

tigger22472

Senior Member
Even though you have to have the other parent's permission if they refuse you can get an emergency hearing and let a judge decide. More then likely it would be allowed but again it depends on the judge. Point being if other parent is simply saying no for no other reason then to simply say No it can be overridden if a judge sees fit.
 

stepmom65

Member
ENASNI said:
It is also in the best interest of the child.

Short Story, my ex took his new wife and my daughter to Cancun this last
fall for winter break. (With my blessing of course... I wish I could have gone too. :( )

They had no problem getting from USA to Mexico. But on the way back, they asked for my permission letter.

They had forgotten to get a certified letter from me, the birth mother saying it was okay for her to go to another country. They really gave them a hard time and were delaying my daughter from coming back into the USA!
She was pretty freaked out (16 years old). My ex was teasing her saying... "Hey its a good thing you have 3 years of spanish under your belt... you should get along fine here"... It all came out alright, but it was scary for her all the same for a bit there.

Its just the safest thing to do all around.
This is correct, they always asked my X and myself... If you don't get along with your X and that is way you are considering not letting him know, then send him a certified, proof of delivery letter. If you don't, and your X complains, you could look bad in court...
 

nextwife

Senior Member
Do NOT attempt a trip like this without the proper permission in hand. You may nhot get into the next country, or you may not be ALLOWED (Hi, Stealth!) to board the plane. It's not worth taking the chance.
 
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Indiana Filer

Senior Member
tigger22472 said:
Depending on where you're going they sometimes ask for papers PROVING you have permission to take the child/ren out of the country. If you were to take the child/ren out of the country without the permission or notification of the other parent you can be held in contempt and risk losing custody.
My husband and I are married, and I had to have a notarized letter from him giving me permission to take our children (13 and 16 at the time) out of the US and into Canada.

If you want to take your kids out of the country to someplace other than Canada or Mexico, you'll have to apply for a passport for them. You'll have to submit documents from both parents before the passport will be issued.
 

casa

Senior Member
stepmom65 said:
From California also....My experience is: When my son's father wanted to take him to Mexico to visit family and to Canada to ski and vacation, he had to write me a letter, stating dates leaving/returning, exact location (hotels, homes), and the phone number where I can reach my son. This was in our divorce decree. Same went for me when I wanted to take my son out of the country.
You and your X had each other's permission- the OP is asking if they can do it WITHOUT the other parent's consent.
 

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