Child Abduction and Relocating with Children

Child Abduction and Relocation Case Studies

Written by Emily Pope - Associate Solicitor in Divorce and Family Law

The cases which I enjoy running the most are those high stakes cases, where time is of the essence. I am the go-to team member for such applications. This results in me doing a lot of cases which involve threats of child abduction or relocation abroad. As a parent who is either considering a relocation or terrified that their former partner is doing just that, it can be hard to know what your options are, what the correct process is and what your prospects of success are. 

I thought it might be helpful for parents in these scenarios if I were to put together a few anonymised case studies showing you how the court have responded in cases that I have been involved with. 

Case Study A v B – “Help, I think my ex partner is about to flee with my daughter”

I received a phone call from a panicked father (let’s call him Andy) who told me that his daughter’s passport had disappeared, his partner had packed her bags (they were separated, but living under the same roof) and he was worried she intended to flee to Ireland, where her family were based.

I had, in fact, already seen Andy a few weeks earlier and explained the process of applying for a ‘prohibited steps order’, which is an order stopping somebody from doing something – in this case, leaving the country. At the time, Andy had been worried about rocking the boat and decided to wait and see what happened. Andy regretted that decision a few weeks later when he realised his partner had found and taken his daughter’s passport. 

After receiving the panicked call, I made an application the same day for a prohibited steps order. As a general rule in abduction cases, it is far easier to stop a child from leaving than it is to get them back once they have gone. We got a court order the next day and arranged for a process server to personally deliver the papers to the mother (let’s call her Bridget). 

Before the paperwork was handed to Bridget, she received a phone call from a third party tipping her off as to Andy’s intentions. Bridget fled to Ireland. 

Once in Ireland, Bridget made her own application to remain there. However, because Andy had already started court proceedings in England, the case was passed back to the English courts to deal with and Bridget eventually agreed to return to England.

Andy and his daughter were reunited and relations between himself and Bridget improved so much during the remainder of the court process that they were able to agree on final arrangements for their daughter between them, agreeing the terms of a court order providing for their daughter to live with Bridget but spend regular time with Andy. 

Case Study C v D – “My child’s mother has told me she is moving abroad with our son, and there is nothing I can do about it”

In this scenario, I was contacted by a father (who we shall call Chris) about arrangements for his son. The mother of his child (let’s say Dina) had told him that she was taking their son and moving abroad. Chris had been spending progressively less time with his son over recent months and thought that because his son spent more time with Dina, he would not be able to prevent the move. Dina had told Chris which day she was planning to leave. 

I helped Chris to make a court application for a prohibited steps order, preventing Dina from leaving. When making these applications, it is really important to send the court a thorough statement identifying why you are concerned about your child leaving and what the risk would be to your relationship and the contact you might have with them if they left.

Previous cases have given us a helpful list of the factors the court will bear in mind when making a decision and it is important to address those in any application. 

Chris was able to obtain an order preventing Dina from leaving and served this on her in time. Dina was prevented from fleeing and reminded by the court that in future she must consult Chris about any big decisions regarding their son, regardless of who he spends more time with. 

Case Study E v F – “My ex partner and my son are on the way to the airport, what can I do?” 

The parents in this scenario – who we will call Elena and Freddie – were already within existing court proceedings, which were incredibly contentious. Their son (let’s say George) was living with Elena for most of his life, then made allegations against Elena’s new partner so as to convince the police to allow him to move into his father’s care full time.

After a contentious multi day hearing, the court concluded that it was because of Freddie’s campaign to alienate his son from Elena that Freddie had made false allegations against Elena’s partner. The court ordered that George should go back to living with Elena.

Freddie promptly collected George from school and was uncontactable. Freddie had a number of relatives living elsewhere in Europe and Elena was concerned that Freddie (who had George’s passport) might try to flee.

An application was made to prevent George’s removal from England but also to issue a port alert. This is an order which is sent to the police and used to notify all airports and ports that an attempt may be made to abduct a child. Freddie never did try to take George to the airport

Case Study H v I – “The Mother of my children has made an application to permanently relocate abroad” 

In this case, the father (we’ll call him Harry) approached me because the mother of his children had made an application for permission to relocate to a non-Hague convention country with the children. 

The significance of whether a country is part of the Hague Convention or not, is that other countries that are signatories to the convention will enforce orders made in English courts. That means that if a child is abducted to, say, France and there is an English Court order providing for them to live with the other parent, an application can be made under the Hague Convention for their return. It is therefore often less risky for a parent to apply to relocate to a Hague Convention country than to a country that is not a signatory and will therefore not necessarily respect any orders made in the English court. 

In this case, the Mother (let’s call her Isabel) wanted to take the children to a non-Hague Convention country.

Harry also had concerns about: 

• The lack of state funded healthcare in the country in question; 
• The quality of education on offer in the country and the Mother’s plans to homeschool the children; 
• The cost of travel to and from the country, which might limit the time the children saw him and;
• Isabel’s unwillingness to promote a relationship between Harry and the girls if she were granted permission. 

Expert evidence was obtained from the country in question, which essentially said that if Isabel chose not to facilitate contact between the girls and Harry, there would be very little Harry could do about this, even if he had a court order from the English Court. 

The case proceeded all the way to a final hearing. I assisted Harry in giving comprehensive statements to the court about his concerns for the girls. The Judge at the final hearing felt that it was too risky to permit Isabel to relocate. She was concerned that the mother had not put forward a realistic and well thought out relocation proposal. Isabel’s plan was focused on all of the lovely experiences the girls would have when they moved, without looking at the practicalities of what life would look like for the children. The Judge was also concerned about Isabel’s ability to prioritise a relationship between the girls and Harry.

Harry successfully opposed the application, but this case shows that if you are planning an application of your own, you must give really careful thought to the implications of your proposal for yourself, your children and the parent who would be left behind. 

Case study J v K – “I want to relocate with my children – what is the proper process to follow?”

In this scenario, we will call the parents Judy and Kevin. Judy had met a new partner who worked approximately 1 hour away. Judy had no ties to the area she was living in with the children, save for the children’s father Kevin. Judy therefore approached me because she wanted to move around an hour away and was not sure whether she would need Kevin’s permission or not. 

When two parents share parental responsibility for a child, they must both be consulted on all big decisions concerning the children. If the move had been to a neighbouring village, with no impact on the children’s schooling, social lives etc., then Judy may have been able to relocate without Kevin’s permission (albeit she should still consult him about the change). 

In this example, Judy was moving an hour away. Therefore, Judy’s plan would result in the children changing schools, GPs, possibly losing contact with friends and importantly, would impact the established routine the children had in spending time with both parents. 

I advised Judy to start by sending a letter to Kevin outlining her proposals in detail and her wish to relocate and seek his permission.

When Kevin refused, Judy was assisted by me to seek a specific issue from the court, granting her permission to relocate. Where two parents cannot agree on big decisions for their children, a court application is the only way to break the impasse. 

Judy outlined to the court the reasons why she felt her proposal would benefit the children. Ultimately, the case concluded by consent, but it is an important example of the correct steps to take when considering a relocation application to put yourself in the best possible position to get the outcome you desire from the court process. 

Conclusions

Whichever of the above scenarios you find yourself in, early comprehensive legal advice is key to ensure that you are following proper procedures, taking fast action in emergency situations and putting yourself in the best possible position should court proceedings become necessary. 

How we can help

If you are experiencing child relocation or abduction concerns, please get in touch with our Family Team. Call 0330 0945 500, email family@neves.co.uk or provide us with some details about your enquiry by completing the form below and we will be in touch shortly.