The attorneys with Antolinez Miller, LLC are highly experienced in representing both left-behind parents whose children have been abducted and parents who have been accused of abducting their children. If you are in either of these situations, it is imperative that you seek immediate advice of counsel. Please call Antolinez Miller, LLC to set up a telephone or in-person consultation.
Parental child abduction is the most common kind of child abduction and often occurs when parents are separating or commencing divorce proceedings. A parent may remove or retain a child from the other parent seeking to gain an advantage in an expected or pending child custody proceeding or because that parent fears that the child may be abused by the other parent or that he or she will not win the custody battle.
Many times parents are wrongly accused of abducting their children when there is in fact a legitimate reason why the children were removed from a particular jurisdiction or secreted from the other parent. In these situations, the laws of various jurisdictions often provide the accused with numerous affirmative defenses. Antolinez Miller, LLC has successfully defended parents accused of abduction both on a interstate basis and internationally. If you have been accused of abducting your child, it is important that you seek the advice of competent counsel as soon as possible.
Parental child abductions may be within the same city, state or country, or may be international. Numerous different laws apply depending on the rights or orders relating to custody and access which have been issued, and depending on where the child was taken from and removed to. Even for experienced practitioners, figuring out what laws apply and do not apply to a given situation is a highly complex process.
When a child is abducted from one state to another by a parent, most often the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is the most effective remedy in seeking and obtaining the return of a child who is the subject of abduction. The procedural workings of this act are extremely complex and it is very important to quickly seek relief with the assistance of competent counsel in these situations.
When children are abducted internationally, matters become ever more complex. International child abduction occurs when a parent, relative or acquaintance of a child wrongfully retains a child or leaves a country with a child in violation of the laws of a particular jurisdiction. Two‑thirds of international parental abduction cases involve mothers who often allege domestic violence. Even when there is a treaty agreement for the return of a child, a court may be reluctant to return the child if the return could result in the permanent separation of the child from his or her primary caregiver. This could occur if the abducting parent faced criminal prosecution or deportation by returning to the child's home country. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international human rights treaty and legal mechanism to recover children abducted to another country. In some cases, however, the Hague Convention does not provide relief resulting in some parents hiring private parties to recover their children. A good resource for parents whose children have been abducted is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. |