Divorce Lawyer: How Do International Child Custody Cases Work

The worst thing that can probably happen in a child custody case is if the case becomes an international child custody case, wherein the party seeking custody has to worry about very difficult multiple jurisdictional issues. In fact, having the case become international is probably worse in many circumstances than having the other parent awarded sole custody simply because with a sole custody award it may still be possible to have some visitation. Additionally, it can be tremendously dispiriting not knowing how the case will be resolved, while dealing with large legal bills for a divorce lawyer.

An example of this is a recent case where a woman flew to Brazil with her minor child, where she then filed for divorce and custody. One of the problems that such a case has is that courts generally defer hearing a lawsuit when it has already been filed in another jurisdiction. And so it can be the case that all that may need to happen is for the court in the foreign country to establish that it has rights to hear the case, and this could stop an American court from hearing the matter. Also, it can be confuse a divorce lawyer as to which court will have continuing jurisdiction after the case has been heard and decided.

Most states in the United States have adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) that defines jurisdictional issues among the states. Internationally, it can become much more complex, and it may be that there are no defined rules as to which country has more right to make a determination compared with other interested countries. For a divorce lawyer, it could be very difficult on how to advise your clients on this not knowing what likely scenarios are for obtaining custody.

Perhaps a place that could provide some assistance is the United States State Department. While moving children internationally hopefully is not that frequent, this agency probably has the most experience dealing with these types of issues. They could probably help with advising the attorney and might be able to assist in finding out whether there are any treaties between the two countries that could help resolve the issue.

Ultimately, it is hard to imagine that it would take less than a couple of years to have the child returned from another country involuntarily. This is simply because it would require multiple hearings in the foreign country trying to defeat the reasons that the other parent is claiming why that court should have jurisdiction. And then, it is possible that the other parent could delay things further by appealing the decision to a higher court. The end result is that it will likely cost a lot of money to litigate, with an uncertain result. Moreover, a divorce lawyer will probably have a difficult time predicting whether the money will result in being able to get your child back.

The above material is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended as professional legal advice and should not be construed as such. Attorney William H. Beaumont practices in New Orleans, La.