Stepchild custody and overseas travel

[jdc0430]

I am a US citizen as well as my daughter and fiancée (dual w/Peru). I am in school and I told her she could take my daughter to Peru and England this summer while I finish up. Can she legally? We will be legally married prior to her leaving but her passport might not be back with matching surnames with my daughter. They (daughter and fiancée) have American passports and I hve a decree giving me full physical and split legal custody. What else is needed to get them to vacation this summer without me to both countries?

 

[kimberlywrites]

First of all, there is rarely such a thing as "stepchild custody."
You would need a notarized letter from the child's mother to travel out of the country - even though you already have passports. The letter needs to be specific to dates of travel, method of travel, ports of entry, contain contact numbers for mom should immigration officials need to call her, and it must be notarized.

 

[Silverplum]

I am a US citizen as well as my daughter and fiancée (dual w/Peru). I am in school and I told her she could take my daughter to Peru and England this summer while I finish up. Can she legally? We will be legally married prior to her leaving but her passport might not be back with matching surnames with my daughter. They (daughter and fiancée) have American passports and I hve a decree giving me full physical and split legal custody. What else is needed to get them to vacation this summer without me to both countries?

The odds of you being able to legally pull this stunt off are, IMO, exceedingly poor.

 

[Ohiogal]

So is the child's mother in 100% agreement with your fiancee taking HER child overseas without either one of you?

 

[kimberlywrites]

If she is in agreement, then it won't be a problem to get a notarized letter then, right? Right! If she's not in agreement, matching surnames on passports still won't work. If immigration asks for a letter you better have it. Trust me.

 

[jdc0430]

When I applied for a passport, I did not need her mother's signature or form on a notarized paper. The court documents I provided allowed me to get her a passport with only my signature. My question is, would my fiancée (who will be my wife) be allowed to take my daughter on vacation without me, but with a notarized paper signed by me? It's not a stunt or kidnapping. She lost custody for a reason.

 

[Banned_Princess]

When I applied for a passport, I did not need her mother's signature or form on a notarized paper. The court documents I provided allowed me to get her a passport with only my signature. My question is, would my fiancée (who will be my wife) be allowed to take my daughter on vacation without me, but with a notarized paper signed by me? It's not a stunt or kidnapping. She lost custody for a reason.

Ths just the way it is. You need both parents approval, via noterized form or whatever, for a minor to actually travel out of the country. not just obtain a passport.

If mom still holds any rights, which she does by having "joint legal custody" she needs to agree.

thats really it.

 

[Ohiogal]

When I applied for a passport, I did not need her mother's signature or form on a notarized paper. The court documents I provided allowed me to get her a passport with only my signature. My question is, would my fiancée (who will be my wife) be allowed to take my daughter on vacation without me, but with a notarized paper signed by me? It's not a stunt or kidnapping. She lost custody for a reason.

You didn't need mother's signature? You do not have sole custody however. Consider yourself lucky that you slipped by. Because with split custody like you have, mother's signature should have been required.

How much visitation is mom going to miss while child would be vacationing?

 

[kimberlywrites]

Wow that surprises me about the passport. I think OP got lucky on that one.
Just curious...do wife-to-be and daughter look similar? I just hope you're not counting on another mistake or an assumption they are blood-related to get them across the border without mom's permission. If it backfires you and your soon-to-be-wife could land in some very serious trouble.
Get the letter from mom, get it notarized - and it's a non-issue.

 

[jdc0430]

Wow that surprises me about the passport. I think OP got lucky on that one.
Just curious...do wife-to-be and daughter look similar? I just hope you're not counting on another mistake or an assumption they are blood-related to get them across the border without mom's permission. If it backfires you and your soon-to-be-wife could land in some very serious trouble.
Get the letter from mom, get it notarized - and it's a non-issue.

Is there a specific form I need my ex to fill out and get notarized or is it a general memo? What about my wife to be? Will she have to carry anything else in addition to the letter/form?

Some attorneys read my decree to say I have both legal and physical. It's Alaskan and contradicts itself and makes projections i.e. "daughter will return to fathers custody no later than may 07 and there's nothing after that. Custody was the questionable wording. Also on previous pages, it says I have physical and her will begin to have legal after she completes a program. Also, on the child support papers, it says I have both legal and physical custody. This document is the mist recent of all docs.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

She will need to have NOTARIZED letters from BOTH parents giving her the right to travel with the child. It is best that the letter state the basic itinerary for their travels.

 

[Ohiogal]

is there a specific form i need my ex to fill out and get notarized or is it a general memo? What about my wife to be? Will she have to carry anything else in addition to the letter/form?

Some attorneys read my decree to say i have both legal and physical. It's alaskan and contradicts itself and makes projections i.e. "daughter will return to fathers custody no later than may 07 and there's nothing after that. Custody was the questionable wording. Also on previous pages, it says i have physical and her will begin to have legal after she completes a program. Also, on the child support papers, it says i have both legal and physical custody. This document is the mist recent of all docs.

lets try this again -- how much visitation does mom get deprived of so that daughter and stepmother can traipse around the world?

 

[jdc0430]

Ohiogal,

We don't have a legal visitation schedule laid out in court docs. I did, however, offer her the ability to see her every other week (we swap every 7 days) while she has the ability to do this. If I move, we revert back to what the divorce papers said leaving me with custody, and if she moves, she loses visitation as frequent as it is now. We have been doing this for 2.5 years.

To answer your question directly, she would lose 6 weeks (12 weeks of vacation), though I would arrive midway in the vacation after my school finishes.

To try and be as specific as possible, I have an interim child support order granting me both physical and legal custody dated 13 Jun 06. I have a decree of divorce dated 5 May 06 stating "Findings in Fact: Child custody shall be as follows: a. Defendant "me" shall have sole legal custody of the parties' minor child and the parties shall have joint physical custody of her for the 6 weeks following Apr 7, 2006 hearing. The child shall be returned to the father's custody in Texas no later than May 1, 2007. The child shall be returned to the father's custody on May 1, 2007. "

Later down the page it states: "Conclusions of Law: after a period of six weeks from April 7, 2006, during which the father shall have sole legal custody and the parties shall have joint physical custody that the mother shall also begin to have joint legal custody of the child as well. It is in the best interest of the parties' minor child that she should follow the same physical custody schedule set out in the Findings in Fact." This as well is on the 5 May 06 document.

 

[Isis1]

Ohiogal,

We don't have a legal visitation schedule laid out in court docs. I did, however, offer her the ability to see her every other week (we swap every 7 days) while she has the ability to do this. If I move, we revert back to what the divorce papers said leaving me with custody, and if she moves, she loses visitation as frequent as it is now. We have been doing this for 2.5 years.

To answer your question directly, she would lose 6 weeks (12 weeks of vacation), though I would arrive midway in the vacation after my school finishes.

To try and be as specific as possible, I have an interim child support order granting me both physical and legal custody dated 13 Jun 06. I have a decree of divorce dated 5 May 06 stating "Findings in Fact: Child custody shall be as follows: a. Defendant "me" shall have sole legal custody of the parties' minor child and the parties shall have joint physical custody of her for the 6 weeks following Apr 7, 2006 hearing. The child shall be returned to the father's custody in Texas no later than May 1, 2007. The child shall be returned to the father's custody on May 1, 2007. "

Later down the page it states: "Conclusions of Law: after a period of six weeks from April 7, 2006, during which the father shall have sole legal custody and the parties shall have joint physical custody that the mother shall also begin to have joint legal custody of the child as well. It is in the best interest of the parties' minor child that she should follow the same physical custody schedule set out in the Findings in Fact." This as well is on the 5 May 06 document.

so status quo is a 50/50 time share. so, answer the question. how long will the child be away from mother? and is mom okay with missing her timeshare?

 

[jdc0430]

I did answer the question. I said she'd be gone for 6 weeks out of 12--a 3 month vacation.

I do not communicate with her mom. She drops her off at school and I pick her up.

So to answer your question, I do not know if she is okay with it because I didn't ask. As I mentioned earlier, in the same way I got a passport with the papers I quoted earlier without her, I would figure the same goes for overseas travel. This is why I asked the question to the forum. I am unfamiliar with traveling abroad and wanted to know what I was allowed to do. That being said, if I were able to solely sign for her passport, would the same apply for me to have my fiancee take her on vacation w/just my notarized paper?