Florida Court: India Permits International Child Abduction

Blog We have just obtained the text of a final judgment from a Florida court that expressly endorsed and adopted the expert testimony of Jeremy Morley concerning the substantial risk of international child abduction to India. The Court stated as follows: “The Court heard testimony of Jacob [Jeremy] Morley, Esq., an expert in the area […]

Mirror Orders to Help Prevent International Child Abductions

Blog “Mirror” orders can be a useful tool in the arsenal of lawyers who handle cases concerning international child travel and the prevention of potential international child abduction. Increasingly courts are being asked to enjoin parents from taking children overseas because of a parent’s fear that the children will not be returned. Courts must take […]

International Prenuptial Agreements are Necessary But Dangerous

Blog Lawyers representing international clients who plan to marry and who want the protection of a prenuptial agreement should always consider the international ramifications of any proposed agreement. While conventional domestic prenuptial agreements raise grave malpractice concerns for family lawyers, the concerns become a hazardous minefield when the issues are multi-jurisdictional. In many ways the […]

Split Circuits: The Grave Risk Exception to the Hague Abduction Convention

Blog There is considerable uncertainty in the United States as to whether a respondent in a Hague Abduction Convention case, who asserts the “grave risk” exception as a shield against an order that a wrongfully removed or retained child must be returned to the country of habitual residence, must prove that the courts and other […]

Ineffective Access Rights in Japan under Hague Abduction Convention

Blog There is great misunderstanding about the ability of a parent outside Japan to obtain access to a child in Japan through the Hague Abduction Convention. The Hague Convention contains only one provision (Article 21) concerning visitation. That Article states little more than that an application to make arrangements for organizing or securing rights of […]

New “Grave Risk” Hague Abduction Case

Blog In a just-issued opinion on the “grave risk” exception to the Hague Abduction Convention, the Seventh Circuit has affirmed the denial of a Hague return petition based on the district court’s finding of sexual abuse by the petitioner.  Ortiz v. Martinez, — F.3d —-, 2015 WL 3650649 (7th Cir. 2015). The appellate ruling was based entirely […]

International Child Travel: USA has No Exit Controls

Blog When seeking or opposing an order to prevent or limit a child’s international travel outside the United States it is important to understand that the United States has no exit controls (except to the very limited extent of the Prevent Departure Program). The Secretary of State’s office now expressly and helpfully advises judges that […]

Washington State Ruling: Egyptian Child Custody Law Violates Human Rights

Blog There is “clear and convincing evidence that Egyptian child custody laws violate fundamental principles of human rights.” Therefore, Washington State should not treat Egypt as a “state” for purposes of the Uniform Child Custody & Jurisdiction Act. So ruled the Superior Court of Washington for King County yesterday based on the expert evidence of […]

Limiting Foreign Visitation: A Case Study: Moore v. Moore

Blog The Supreme Court of the State of Alaska has just upheld an order authorizing a father to take the parties 10 year old child to Micronesia even though that country that is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction (Moore v. Moore 2015 WL 3452474 Alaska). The lower court acknowledged […]

Forced Prenuptial Agreements: Australian Cases

Blog Courts around the world generally reserve the right to invalidate prenuptial agreements that were entered into under duress. The meaning of “duress” can be extremely hard to determine in specific cases. Can there be duress when a young impecunious foreign woman moves to another country to marry a rich man who then demands that […]