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  • Hi, I'm new but I have a question...

    I just need to know, if both parents have joint custody, is it not necessary to let the other parent know if they are going to be taking the child out of the country?

  • #2
    when there is any type of shared custody I am thinking it is always wise to let the other parent know the child will be out of the country. Not sure if the parent has to do it legally though.

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    • #3
      With any sort of custody (joint, sole, shared), if you are planning on taking the child out of the country, you must let the other parent know and obtain a travel consent from them. This way, the border guards know that the other parent is aware of the trip, and you aren't just abducting the children and fleeing the country. There are travel consent templates online: Sample Consent Letter

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      • #4
        Thank you for your response. My son told me that he was going to "New Hamster" (New Hampshire) this weekend and my husband hasn't said anything to me about it. We just went to trial less than a month ago and we are supposed to be communicating through a communication log - something that I have never received back from him. I can't help but feel that 'something' is going on...

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        • #5
          I think what they are saying is that he can't without the consent letter anyways. Even if people are married and only one parent is taking the child across the border, you need the consent letter.

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          • #6
            Should I contact my lawyer? All my husband said was that they were going camping this weekend. Nothing about where they were going except, "North". Thanks for the advice, everyone...I am very concerned about this.

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            • #7
              I have sole custody..in my custody agreement it is stated that I can travel outside the country without the other parties consent for the purposes of a vacation. Before I ever had any agreement I did on occasion take the child across the boarder shopping without any travel documentation and didn't have any issues.

              When we went to Florida last year, I showed US customs my agreement and they didn't have any issue with us not have a travel consent letter.

              Honestly the Canadian custom official on the way back into Canada looked at things much closer than when I was leaving the country.

              Why not call and ask the other parent if they are going across across the boarder for the weekend? I do believe the parent should have discussed it first without having you hear it from the child.

              mominon

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              • #8
                I feel that my husband is being 'sneaky' about it. My husband doesn't drive, so, it was never a concern that he would leave the city. He was to put in writing by May 1 as to the dates for the summer break, but I haven't received that either.

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                • #9
                  Well you can call your lawyer but I don't think they will be able to do much.

                  Why not ask your husband... Like this "Little johnny said your going to New Hampshire this weekend, are you planning on going camping or going to New Hampshire"

                  Has he taken the child camping before? If so who normally drives - if he doesn't drive?

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                  • #10
                    It's not that I don't want to stop them from going, he has taken him camping before and it's usually with his side of the family (his mother and sister) that they sort of 'tag along'. What concerns me is the communication problem that we have. I can't seem to get any information from him. I am not the primary care-giver for my son, he went to live with his father after our home caught on fire. I have joint custody, but the judge was leary about granting it to us because of the communication between us. We were to implement a communication log because my husband had not been passing information to me regarding my son (who has special needs) and greatly affected my son's education. This is just one more 'incident' of lack of communication. I am concerned because I am worried as my son's mother that if something happens while away, is everything going to be okay? My husband has a past history of not being attentive to my son's needs. He has in the past, arbitrarily cut off my access. I feel that the only reason I was given joint custody with liberal (and I mean very liberal) access was because of my husband's lack of concern.

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                    • #11
                      I am not aware of any law that requires a parent to tell the other parent about travel plans outside of the country. Most separation agreements have a stipulation that requires parents to obtain consent, but if there is no such stipulation and no such law, I don't think there's anything illegal about what he's doing.

                      That said, the border authorities may deny entry anyway. They're trying to prevent child abductions, and without a consent letter, they have no way of verifying the trip doesn't violate a court order or agreement. It's the same if anyone attempts to travel without a passport. There's nothing illegal about the attempt, but the border officials can deny entry anyway.

                      But unless there's a court order or separation agreement saying so, there's nothing restricting a parent from attempting to take a child across a border on a trip. There are no laws about separated or divorced parents traveling with children -- at least none that I know of.

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                      • #12
                        I recently inquired online at passport Canada because I was concerned about my ex's ability to get passports for our kids and take them out of the country on what I considered to be an inappropriate trip. I will paste some of the email reply from passport Canada:

                        The policy for issuing passports for children under 16 years of age is based on Section 7 of the Canadian Passport Order. Both parents must participate: one as applicant while the other must provide his or her written acknowledgement or consent. It is therefore necessary to determine that each of the individuals is a parent and has custody of the child. The policy applies to all individuals, regardless of their marital status.
                        The custodial parent must be the applicant in the child?s passport application. All legal documents that refer to custody of, mobility of or access to the child must be submitted.

                        If a divorce has been granted, a copy of the divorce judgment or order must also be provided.

                        If these documents are unavailable we suggest you include a notarized letter explaining the custody agreements with the application.

                        If the parents were granted joint custody, the consent of the other parent is mandatory.

                        If the other parent has been granted specific access to the child, the acknowledgement of the other parent is required.

                        If the other parent has been granted reasonable access to the child, the acknowledgement of the other parent is not required.

                        If the other parent has not been granted access to the child, the acknowledgement of the other parent is not required.
                        I realize that you were not asking about obtaining passports, but about leaving the country. I would encourage you to find a contact in the relevant agency and email them for some details about what they would do in your hypothetical case. Also, if I recall, there are stricter ID requirements for crossing into the US now.

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