The rise in parental child abductions – where a mum or dad snatches their own child – continues unabated.

Last year the Foreign Office dealt with nearly 500 cases – almost double the figure in 2005 –  and, according to a recent BBC programme, a British child is abducted and taken abroad by a parent, on average, every day.

Resolution, the organisation representing collaborative family lawyers, is addressing the growing need for the legal profession to be better informed and better able to help clients facing family law cases abroad. Its recent conference covered topics including how to spot and avoid abduction along with dealing with financial claims and maintenance after an overseas’ divorce.

International relationships and marriages are only part of the story behind the rise in abductions. Country specific family law legislation means that any issue relating to children can be challenging – with some parents prepared to take desperate measures. Even relocation abroad for work can push a parent into taking drastic actions to keep their child if their marriage breaks down.

The issue has been further catapulted into the media spotlight after two mothers calling themselves ‘Expat Stuck Mums’ launched a campaign aimed at mums and dads who find themselves trapped in a foreign country because the other parent forbids them to leave.

Like many people, these two women were unaware that children are automatically under a foreign jurisdiction when they move abroad because the new country becomes their ‘habitual residence’.

British courts have no say over what happens to the child and having British passports does not give either parent the right to take their children back to live in the UK without the consent of the other parent.

If there is a dispute about taking a child out of a country then requests must be settled by the family court in that jurisdiction. Whereas in the UK complex family cases are heard in a higher court, in many foreign countries a case may be heard by an inexperienced judge.

The Expat Stuck Mums are frustrated because they can ill afford to be stuck on foreign soil, often without any income and sometimes for years – yet risk prosecution if they abduct their children. They say that returning to the UK alone to fight for your child’s return isn’t an option as this could imply that you have abandoned your offspring.

As specialists in all matters relating to children, Jones Myers has first-hand experience of helping parents with returning their children to the UK. Here are some of our tips for dealing with international child custody issues:

1. Be absolutely certain that a move overseas is right for you and your family. Even a trial or short term move means that your children’s future will be decided by the laws of that host country
2. If you are unhappy abroad and want to return to the UK then try to negotiate with your child’s father or mother as a first step
3. Never be tempted to take the law into your own hands. If you abduct your child then your credibility as a parent will be irretrievably damaged – particularly if you have ignored a court order. You could also face a jail sentence
4. If you are concerned that the other parent could flee with your children then keep their passports safe – you could lodge them with a solicitor. You can also ask the Passport Agency in the UK to block the child’s mother or father from applying for a new passport
5. Notify schools, child minders and even friends, about who is allowed to collect your child
6. Contact Reunite, the UK’s International Child Abduction Charity, which operates a 24 hour emergency helpline -(0)116 255 6234
7. If you receive a threat of child abduction, or if your child has been abducted, then contact the local police at once. They will alert airports and ferry terminals. Photos of your child, the other parents and details of any destination or person they could be heading to, will be helpful
8. Seek legal advice immediately.

If you have any concerns about parental child abduction or any matter relating to children and divorce then please call us on 0113 246 0055, leave us a comment below or drop us an e-mail. You can follow us on Twitter at @helpwithdivorce

The post How to deal with international child custody concerns appeared first on Jones Myers.

I am saddened but not surprised to hear that the Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO)  dealt with 553 international child parental abduction and child custody cases across the last 12 months – and that Reunite witnessed a 30% increase in the number of children abducted to non-Hague Convention countries.

As the FCO and Reunite call on parents considering abducting their child to think through the devastating consequences for all involved in the countdown to the Christmas holidays, as specialists in this area, we are all too aware that this is a worldwide issue – and that the public’s understanding of parental child abduction is alarmingly low.

It is extremely difficult to return a child from a country such as China, Pakistan or Somalia   that has not signed the Hague Convention. The challenges a parent faces in such circumstances can be overwhelming and desperately frightening as they struggle to get their child back.

Even when the country is a signatory, the process is extremely traumatic for the parent left behind – invariably placing the child in the middle of an ugly dispute where the stakes are high – and where secretive actions often involve a myriad of deceptions.

It is also important to remember that whilst such situations are extremely traumatic for any parent, all cases are abusive for the child or children involved as they are subjected to significant emotional harm.

While most clients I speak to believe that the government can intervene to order and help with the return of a child to England and Wales – the reality is that although support is available, parental child abduction cases can take years to resolve.

The need to step up information campaigns is further reflected in a 37% increase in the volume of calls to Reunite’s advice line this year.

If you are concerned that your child may be at risk, here are some preventative steps to consider:

• Apply to the Court for a Prohibited Steps Order (PSO); this prevents either parent from taking their children to any specific events or any trips without the express permission of the other parent.
• Ensure that contact is supervised and, in extreme cases, you may wish to stop contact altogether.
• Keep passports safe and consider depositing them with a solicitor.
• Contact the Passport Agency and ask them to block the other parent from applying for a new passport.
• Notify the school about who is allowed to collect your child from school.

If you receive a threat of child abduction or if your child has been abducted:

• Contact the police immediately who can issue a port alert to airports and ferry terminals. Recent photos of your child and the other parent, together with details of the airport or destination you think they may be heading, will help the police to focus their search
• Contact Reunite, the UK’s International Child Abduction Charity which operates a 24 hour emergency helpline.
• Seek legal advice immediately.

For more information please e-mail us or call us on 0113 246 0055. You can also follow us on Twitter @helpwithdivorce

The post Why child abduction figures reinforce urgency for greater parental awareness appeared first on Jones Myers.

According to the Office for National Statistics, more than 500 children are abducted within the UK each year, either by a stranger, by someone the child knows or even by their own parent – which as a specialist in family law and international child abduction, we are sadly all too familiar with.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has had an active alert system in operation since 2005, and in the event of a child abduction, alerts have quickly been issued to the media.

Now, in an innovative move designed to harness the ever-growing power of social media, I am pleased to see that the alert system has been extended to include members of the public.  A UK wide campaign has been launched to encourage people to register online via the Child Rescue Alert website and to date more than 11,000 people have already done so.

The enhanced system, which will be launched on May 25 – International Missing Children’s Day – will issue alerts via text, email, social media and digital billboards to all registered users the minute a child is deemed as missing.  Anyone with information can then call a dedicated phone number, where a centralised team will be working quickly to collate all of the information gathered and pass it to the relevant police force.Inflatable Ball

The Child Rescue Alert can be activated by any British police force when a child is known to have been abducted or their life is believed to be in grave danger.  There are however three criteria which need to be met before an alert can be activated:

•           The child must be under 18

•           There must be ‘reasonable belief’ that they are in imminent danger of serious harm

•           There is sufficient information for the public to be able to help the police investigation.

The aim of this unique partnership between police, press and the public is ultimately to increase the chances of the child’s safe return.  The more successful the campaign is to encourage people to register, the more effective the system will become to the police.

We wholeheartedly welcome the introduction of this updated system and believe that encouraging greater public participation will prove hugely beneficial in helping to track down abducted children.

This very important service is free, simple to use and it could end up reuniting an abducted child, or even perhaps saving their life.

The adage says ‘that it takes a village to raise a child’.  If that is true, then it may well be that it takes a community to save one.

Concerned that your child is at risk from parental child abduction? Advice from our children’s department

Understanding of parental child abduction is alarmingly low and cases can take years to resolve. The situation is made more difficult if a child is taken to a country that has not signed the Hague Convention, an international agreement between certain countries which aims to ensure the return of a child who has been abducted by a parent.

If you are concerned that your child may be at risk, here are some preventative steps to consider:

• Apply to the Court for a Prohibited Steps Order (PSO); this prevents either parent from taking their children to any specific events or any trips without the express permission of the other parent.
• Ensure that contact is supervised and in extreme cases, you may wish to stop contact altogether.
• Keep passports safe and consider depositing them with a solicitor.
• Contact the Passport Agency and ask them to block the other parent from applying for a new passport.
• Notify the school about who is allowed to collect your child from school.

If you receive a threat of child abduction or if your child has been abducted:

• Contact the police immediately who can issue a port alert to airports and ferry terminals. Recent photos of your child and the other parent, together with details of the airport or destination you think they may be heading, will help the police to focus their search
• Contact Reunite, the UK’s International Child Abduction Charity which operates a 24 hour emergency helpline.
• Seek legal advice immediately.

If you have any questions about parental child abduction please call us on 0113 246 0055, leave us a comment below or drop us an e-mail.

You can follow us on Twitter @helpwithdivorce

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