Some Florida parents may have had the unfortunate experience of having their children taken away from them. This can sometimes happen when the court awards child custody to the other parent. It is even more tragic when the parent with custody is allowed to move children far away from their non-custodial parent. Sometimes, they can even leave the country.
This is what happened in a recent case that made national headlines. A soldier's ex-wife, who is Scottish, took their daughter to live in her native country. When the couple divorced, a circuit court allowed the mother to take the couple's daughter out of the U.S. According to the Hague Convention, our country's courts had no power to allow the father to appeal this decision because the girl had already been taken out of the country.
When the case reached the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts disagreed with the lower court's ruling. He said that the child custody case could continue. This ruling could challenge a precedent set by the Hague Convention for handling international child custody cases. This could bring hope to many Florida parents who have lost their children due to a foreign parent taking children out of the United States.
Establishing who will receive primary child custody is one of the most significant aspects of a divorce. Parents going through this difficult process often need support and advice in order to successfully display that it is in their children's best interest for them to have custody. They may need to receive consultation to know what custody arrangements are available. Knowing what to say and what tactics to use are extremely advantageous in child custody cases.
Source: Fort Stewart, GA Patch, "Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Fort Stewart Dad," Ryan Smith, Feb. 25, 2013
