Travel Consent Form

A

alice wong

New member
Current court order states that if I wish to travel outside of Canada for more than 2 week I must seek the other party's travel consent which should not be unreasonable withheld. There is no make-up access time provision if party is travelling.

I requested that with my ex and provided the travel consent to sign and commission.

In response I received 2 conditions I must meet before the travel consent signed. We must agree on make-up access time and I must first purchase tickets, provide the full detailed itinerary and then the consent maybe be signed.

What would you do?
 
I wouldn't have an issue with either of those. Frankly, the question that should be asked here, is why shouldn't those requests be met?

Perhaps his approach to requesting them was poorly done, if they were presented as conditions, but they aren't exactly unreasonable requests of you.
 
While I understand the need for seeing a planned schedule/itinerary before giving consent, I don't think it's reasonable to require the other parent to buy the tickets before consent is given. It would be awful to be out all that money if the other parent did not consent in the end.

Yes, I know there can be motions to dispense with the parent's consent, but it's not easy or guaranteed, and meanwhile you've still spent the money.

The make-up access being arranged ahead of time is more reasonable. If you want to take away some access from the other parent, of course you should offer it back elsewhere in return.
 
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Basically, he wants me to first buy all the tickets, send it over to him and then he will provide me with a travel consent. I see this as unreasonable request.

We have a clause in the court order that protects him , that is I must provide him with a detailed itinerary of my trip including the tickets info , etc.

My fears are that he will not provide me with a travel consent and I will loose a lot of money as well as pre -booked off vacation time at work.
 
Rioe said:
While I understand the need for seeing a planned schedule/itinerary before giving consent, I don't think it's reasonable to require the other parent to buy the tickets before consent is given. It would be awful to be out all that money if the other parent did not consent in the end.

Yes, I know there can be motions to dispense with the parent's consent, but it's not easy or guaranteed, and meanwhile you've still spent the money.

The make-up access being arranged ahead of time is more reasonable. If you want to take away some access from the other parent, of course you should offer it back elsewhere in return.
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Thank you. I think likewise.

We don't have a provision in court order that states that I must allow him make-up access time if its missed as a result of my vacation trip. However I have agreed to that as a good will and because I agree that it is in the best interests of the child.
 
alice wong said:
Basically, he wants me to first buy all the tickets, send it over to him and then he will provide me with a travel consent. I see this as unreasonable request.

We have a clause in the court order that protects him , that is I must provide him with a detailed itinerary of my trip including the tickets info , etc.

My fears are that he will not provide me with a travel consent and I will loose a lot of money as well as pre -booked off vacation time at work.
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So his obligation is to not unreasonably withhold consent. He would like information before he consents. This is reasonable.

Your obligation is to provide him with a detailed itinerary. This is reasonable so that he knows where the child is and what is going on while the travel is happening.

These two obligations don't have to follow sequentially.

There's a big difference between:

Hey, Ex, I would like to take the kid to China for two weeks. We will hopefully fly out on X date, visit my family's home province, take a river cruise, and see some temples, then fly back on Y date. If you're okay with this, I'll provide more details once I have things booked, and then you can give me a letter to take with me.

And:

Hey, Ex, I'm thinking of going somewhere in Asia for a couple of weeks this summer. Give me consent.
 
dad2bandm said:
If that is what your court order states, then you should follow the court order.
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Which i don't mind doing , of course. The question is is the chicken born before the egg or the egg before the chicken.

I am scared to buy tickets and not get consent to travel. He wants my itinerary first and then consent.
 
Rioe said:
So his obligation is to not unreasonably withhold consent. He would like information before he consents. This is reasonable.

Your obligation is to provide him with a detailed itinerary. This is reasonable so that he knows where the child is and what is going on while the travel is happening.

These two obligations don't have to follow sequentially.

There's a big difference between:

Hey, Ex, I would like to take the kid to China for two weeks. We will hopefully fly out on X date, visit my family's home province, take a river cruise, and see some temples, then fly back on Y date. If you're okay with this, I'll provide more details once I have things booked, and then you can give me a letter to take with me.

And:

Hey, Ex, I'm thinking of going somewhere in Asia for a couple of weeks this summer. Give me consent.
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Not sure what you mean by these two examples.

I provided my ex with country, town and approximate dates of my trip as well as duration. Asked him to sign a consent. I then confirm the exact dates of my trip and provide him with the lodging details. He refuses. He wants all the lodging details first.
 
I apologize, I missed the part where you stated that he wanted you to purchase the tickets first. That's makes it into a ridiculous expectation. If you make all the arrangements and pay for everything, and then he somehow comes up with something that would be a reasonable reason to withhold consent, you're out a lot of funds.

Providing him with your plans, with the commitment to let him know the finalized version when you know it, should be more than adequate to anyone except someone simply trying to make things more difficult than they have to be.
 
If you use a travel site like Expedia, you can create and save an itinerary which has all the details of the trip (which flights, exactly what dates, which hotels, how much it costs, etc) without having to actually purchase the tickets. That would provide all the information that he needs to know, and additional information besides.

Send him an Expedia itinerary. There is no reason he needs proof of purchase.
 
alice wong said:
In response I received 2 conditions I must meet before the travel consent signed. We must agree on make-up access time
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I would almost be shocked if that was not a condition for anybody providing consent. That said, why not travel during your time with the children? No need to cause a ruckus.


and I must first purchase tickets, provide the full detailed itinerary and then the consent maybe be signed.
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Buying tickets before consent is given is obviously silly. Believe it or not though, my ex tried that stunt once as well. So, this is not the first time I have heard of this.

Seems like you are itching to go to court anyway based on your other threads. A clever ruse might be to bait him: buy a ticket to something that he would disapprove of and then refuse consent. Then, while you are at court, hit him for unreasonably not giving consent. Make him pay for the tickets, and make him pay for the lawyer time used to make him pay for the ticket. He won't pull that stunt again.

(Sadly, stripes has the right idea, but that way is so much less fun)
 
here is what I would do

1.plan your travel buy your tickets and also buy insurance incase you have to cancel.
2. send him everything. flight # date time hotel, etc. in travel consent. there is a sample one on Canads government website.
3. if he withholds the consent at that point then he is being unreasonable and you file a contempt motion and sue him for damages.

I dont think he can withhold travel consent because you're not giving him makeup time. thats no reason to not allow the children to travrl, unless that's part of your agreement. but keep in mind that it would look good on you and help you if you did. otherwise I think you could just tell him you can discuss makeup access when you return. but it is best to plan your travel during your time. I think this is a bit of a grey area. I would offer makeup time if you're taking the child out during his time. but that is not something that goes in a travel consent.

i would take the safe approach just in case. you never know what type of judge you'll get.



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Ideally, you travel within your own parenting time. Therefore makeup time is not an issue. Or at least, it is MOSTLY within your own parenting time, so makeup time is not so hard to arrange.

Sequence:
1) Get agreement in email to travel dates and destinations and exchange times e.g. flying March 4 to Orlando FLA (with exchange 7pm March 3 at Timmies), return flight arriving March 17 (with exchange 7pm March 17 at Timmies). Staying at Paradise Hotel. Contact #555-555-5555.
2) Book tickets/hotel
3) Send travel consent form with all details filled in, for your ex to sign and get notarized (my sister was refused boarding by an airline because her ex didn't notarize the consent form)
4) if your ex refuses to provide consent and/or child's passport, file an emergency motion, with your email as proof of unreasonableness (been there done that)
 
dinkyface said:
Ideally, you travel within your own parenting time. Therefore makeup time is not an issue. Or at least, it is MOSTLY within your own parenting time, so makeup time is not so hard to arrange.

Sequence:
1) Get agreement in email to travel dates and destinations and exchange times e.g. flying March 4 to Orlando FLA (with exchange 7pm March 3 at Timmies), return flight arriving March 17 (with exchange 7pm March 17 at Timmies). Staying at Paradise Hotel. Contact #555-555-5555.
2) Book tickets
3) Send travel consent form with all details filled in, for your ex to sign and get notarized (my sister was refused boarding by an airline because her ex didn't notarize the consent form)
4) if your ex refuses to provide consent and/or child's passport, file an emergency motion, with your email as proof of unreasonabless (been there done that)
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i been in that situation as well.

to add to that, they didn't ask me for travel consents at airport. just the childs passport. it is possible to travel without passport or travel consent and only birth certificate as long as your not leaving canada/us. if that is what you have to do we can share details. but if your court order requires consents and they find out, you're sol. he may even file motion to find you in contempt.

in emergency motion you ask for police assistance to get you birth certificate and passport. you also request that his consent to travel is waved. if they can't get the passport and birth certificate then you ask for an order that you can apply for those without her consent (passport and birth certificate). you can order the birth certificate online and get passport same day expedited.

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Most travel agents can issue itineraries with full details, but hold off on the actual booking until payment is processed. So book your travel through an agent and have them send you the itinerary. Then process payment after you receive the consent forms signed.

Remember this will go both ways. Maybe you should remind your other parent should they think of pulling a fast one and refusing to sign.
 
alice wong said:
Current court order states that if I wish to travel outside of Canada for more than 2 week I must seek the other party's travel consent which should not be unreasonable withheld. There is no make-up access time provision if party is travelling.
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If you are travelling for ONE DAY leaving the country, you still need to obtained a consent letter from the other parent.

Unfortunately it seems your court order is confusing
1) consent to interrupt the other parent's time with your child
2) consent to leave the country (which may need to be shown to border control)

And it is confusing
1) getting consent
2) getting a consent letter

Was this prepared by lawyers???? Not that it's useful now...
 
alice wong said:
Which i don't mind doing , of course. The question is is the chicken born before the egg or the egg before the chicken.

I am scared to buy tickets and not get consent to travel. He wants my itinerary first and then consent.
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There is no chicken/egg issue here. There is no itinerary yet as plans have not been settled and tickets have not been purchased. The purchase of the vacation would always precede the request for consent. Part of the "detailed itinerary" would include flight numbers, departure dates/times, arrival times etc., all information that wouldn't be available prior to purchasing the tickets. Also, depending on what you are doing (ie. vacation resort vs. visiting family) your hotel accommodation wouldn't be determined prior to the purchase.

I'm doing a letter for my ex this week. She has provided me with all the details so I can prepare the letter.

IMO, you cannot ask for consent when the details are not finalized. What you can say is "I am booking a vacation from X-Y, likely going to Z. I will get you the details once booked so you can provide the consent letter." That gives the ex the heads up and nothing more. Should they have concerns, it gives them a chance to voice them.

Book the trip. Give the details. Request the letter. Should the ex fight it, you could seek an emergency order requiring them to consent or possibly removing the need for their consent entirely.
 
The point of requiring travel consent is so that the parent not traveling knows where the kids are going to be. This can be accomplished by an itinerary even before paying for the trip. There's no reason why the other parent needs to see that it has been paid for. Yes, the traveling parent could change her plans after getting the consent and take the kids somewhere completely different, but even if she had paid for the itinerary she could switch dates, pay change fees, etc and take the kids somewhere completely different.

I wouldn't pay for a trip unless I had ex's travel consent first. To pay and then wait around for his consent gives him too much power.
 
HammerDad said:
There is no chicken/egg issue here. There is no itinerary yet as plans have not been settled and tickets have not been purchased. The purchase of the vacation would always precede the request for consent. Part of the "detailed itinerary" would include flight numbers, departure dates/times, arrival times etc., all information that wouldn't be available prior to purchasing the tickets. Also, depending on what you are doing (ie. vacation resort vs. visiting family) your hotel accommodation wouldn't be determined prior to the purchase.

I'm doing a letter for my ex this week. She has provided me with all the details so I can prepare the letter.

IMO, you cannot ask for consent when the details are not finalized. What you can say is "I am booking a vacation from X-Y, likely going to Z. I will get you the details once booked so you can provide the consent letter." That gives the ex the heads up and nothing more. Should they have concerns, it gives them a chance to voice them.

Book the trip. Give the details. Request the letter. Should the ex fight it, you could seek an emergency order requiring them to consent or possibly removing the need for their consent entirely.
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if the trip planned does not take any of the other parents time away then You will will have no issues. You plan your trip, buy your tickets and send the details along with the consent form for the other parent to sign.

Your order states that consent should not be unreasonably withheld and it is entirely reasonable if it does not encroach on the other parents parenting time.

The issue comes when your planned trip encroaches on the other parents parenting time.

It seems that you want to take advantage of the lack of a makeup clause in your agreement and book a trip which will impact on the other parents time. So, as you have given the parent a heads up on the plan they have objected and suggested that it would be reasonable to have make up time established and possibly wants to see the tickets so it is a definite timeline and you will not stay longer and further encroached on their time.

I think that would be a reasonable reason for the other parent not to sign.

So you have a choice. Be reasonable and agree on makeup time or chance a judge will find your case more reasonable than the other parents!
 
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