INTERNATIONAL CHILD CUSTODY DISPUTES

As our world becomes smaller and our community more global, more and more people of different countries of origin marry and have children. An unfortunate result of this trend is an increase in the number of international child custody disputes and international parental kidnapping. Unlike many other area firms, BKR has experience in these extremely complicated cases.

The family law attorneys at BKR pride themselves on maintaining strong proficiency in jurisdiction and in the state, federal and international laws that governs international custody disputes such as the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA), Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of Child Abduction, Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Law (UCCJL), Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Each of these laws serves a different purpose, however, they all work together to try to prevent wrongful removal of children from their state or country and to return children home if they have been abducted by a parent. Failure to use the appropriate law or standard can severely hinder a parent’s ability to regain custody of their children.

The Department of State's Office of Children's Issues (CA/OCS/CI) is designated to provide assistance to parents when their children have been wrongfully removed from the US or wrongfully retained in another country. You may also place your children on a passport application watch list through the Department of State. If you need more information regarding the Departments services, visit the website www.travel.state.gov.