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    addygirl123's Avatar
    addygirl123 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Dec 4, 2007, 01:43 PM
    Relocating child before divorce
    My friend who is from Singapore has been married to an american for 10 yrs and lived in the USA. They have been having problems and she has taken their child to Singapore and is refusing to return. They have been there for 4 months, against the wishes of her husband who is threatening to cut off funds and is upset about the child not being in school etc. They were married in Singapore and she plans to file for divorce over there. She is a green card holder, the child is a US citizen and does not have dual. Does she have any legal right to do this? Can't she be charged with kidnapping? What could be the repercussions of this? She claims that her lawyer in Singapore said the child cannot be extradited because of the Hague convention... is that true?
    Thanks for any feedback.
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
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    #2

    Dec 4, 2007, 01:48 PM
    Its possible the Hague convention deals with this. It does deal with jurisdictional disputes between nations. Its not kidnapping for a mother to run away with her child. But I believe the father could file for divorce and, in abstentia, have a US court order award him custody. This would mean if she ever returned to the states she could be in trouble. But wehther he can force her to return, you need a very knowledgeable atty for that.
    addygirl123's Avatar
    addygirl123 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Dec 4, 2007, 02:00 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by addygirl123
    My friend who is from Singapore has been married to an american for 10 yrs and lived in the USA. They have been having problems and she has taken their child to Singapore and is refusing to return. They have been there for 4 months, against the wishes of her husband who is threatening to cut off funds and is upset about the child not being in school etc. They were married in Singapore and she plans to file for divorce over there. She is a green card holder, the child is a US citizen and does not have dual. Does she have any legal right to do this? Can't she be charged with kidnapping? What could be the repercussions of this? She claims that her lawyer in Singapore said the child cannot be extradited because of the Hague convention...is that true?
    Thanks for any feedback.
    Thanks for the reply. Very helpful!
    s_cianci's Avatar
    s_cianci Posts: 5,472, Reputation: 760
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    #4

    Dec 4, 2007, 02:03 PM
    What she did may not be legally according to US law but, given the circumstances, there isn't really much that can be done.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
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    #5

    Dec 4, 2007, 07:03 PM
    This is the problem, US divorce law has no real bearing there, the parent in the US can file for divorce her and most likely be given custody here in the US and that would be binding if the child ever comes back to the US
    ( and specificly the state where you end up getting the divorce)

    But the other parent can most likely also get a divorce there esp since there were married there. So in their nation, they will have legal custody.

    There is no criminal charge for this, so there is no extridiction available.

    There is little you can do legally to get the child back to the US
    addygirl123's Avatar
    addygirl123 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #6

    Dec 5, 2007, 06:52 AM
    Thanks again! All info helpful!
    450donn's Avatar
    450donn Posts: 1,821, Reputation: 239
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    #7

    Dec 5, 2007, 08:45 AM
    File for divorce, get sole custody, and if you really want the child back, fly to Singapore, and grab the child and fly back home. If you did it really fast, and had the papers in your hand when you landed back in the USA customs would likely let you back in with no problems. Of course you would want to check with the State Department first.
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