When a Connecticut marriage breaks down, adults often face emotional and physical stress. Should children be involved, the stakes become more tumultuous. When one parent has the means and family support to leave the state or country, the other parent often fears that he or she may never see his or her child again, even when a child custody agreement is in place. A mother in another state fled the country with her then 5-year-old son. When authorities learned of the circumstances surrounding the flight, they sought legal recourse and are in the process of returning the child to his father and holding those involved in the international kidnapping responsible.
The parents of the mother were recently arrested for the role they played in the deception surrounding the kidnapping of their grandson. The mother, a resident in another state, was in the process of a divorce with a joint custody agreement in place. She misled the child’s father, saying she and their son would be attending a family wedding in Brazil. She failed to mention that she had no plans of returning to the United States.
Prosecutors allege that the child’s maternal grandparents aided the boy’s mother by concealing the mother’s plans to remain in Brazil with the child. The grandmother had enrolled the child in a Brazilian school before he and his mother had left the states. The child and his mother have not returned to the US.
When Connecticut parents decide to cut the ties that binds, it may seem like a simple task to share the children through visitation. However, when one parent decides to take the child out of the state or country without the possibility of returning, the remaining parent is left with little options. When one parent has the means and intention of leaving the state or country and a child custody agreement is in place, the other parent should contact an attorney to see what legal recourse is possible.
Source: ctpost.com, “Brazilian couple facing kidnapping charges in Texas case”, Juan A. Lozano, Feb. 7, 2018