International Parental Child Abduction

When resolving custody issues between international parents, counsel should address the issue of international travel and should use their best efforts to prevent international parental child abduction. In my practice, I assist attorneys and clients around the world to prevent children from being abducted overseas and to seek their return if they have been abducted. Preventing child abduction is obviously far better than trying to recover abducted children from countries that do not recognize an obligation to reunite families. Unfortunately, clients often seek help too late, lawyers often do not recognize the severity of the situation or do not know what steps to take, and judges often fall back on concepts such as international comity to justify a refusal to issue the necessary orders.