WA Ex refusing to sign 16yo passport renewal

[Lily45]

My ex husband is refusing to sign my 16 year old son's passport application, saying that he should be studying during his summer holidays, rather than taking a 3 week family holiday overseas with his Mum and older siblings.
1. The trip covers Christmas/NY
2. The child's father lives interstate and has not spent any significant amount of time with my son in the last 7 years, apart from 1 week in July 2022. He has not even suggested that my son spends Christmas with him, as there won't be anyone at home!
3. There are no parenting orders in place.

The tickets have been booked, as I had no reason to believe he would refuse to sign, but I am now applying to the Family Court in WA to have the need for his signature overridden.
Has anyone done this before?
How long did it take you?
Will it be faster if I use a lawyer? The forms all seem straightforward.
OR, Should I apply for a court order that he has to sign within 7 days. If I do that, I run the risk of him not signing, because he won't care about the cost....and he would rather pay than be forced to back down and be told what to do.
We travel in 5 weeks.
I am also considering applying to the Passport office for a B9 just to hedge my bets, although I've read that its rare to get approval.
I'd love any advice/experience please.
Thank you.

 

[Nighthelyn]

Dear Lily45,

Unfortunately divorce doesn’t change the fact that both signatures/consents are required. That is the case even if there is a parenting order/sole parenting order.

The 2 options are as you mentioned - either special approval from Passport Office (Department of Immigration) or family court order. Neither are likely to happen within 5 weeks under normal applications, and the family court order path I believe usually require an attempt at mediation first which is also further delay. The only way you can get fast track is if there are any special circumstances but yes very difficult - here is a link if you want to review possible grounds. Incomplete consent
Lawyer can be helpful but not if the only issue is that the timeframe is very tight. Don’t forget even with consent it take several weeks (likely longer) to get the passport In any case.

It sounds like the most likely option out of all the difficult choices from your description with a possibility to meet your deadline is to negotiate something with the ex-husband.

Appreciate this is quite difficult but rightly or wrongly the reality is the law here is designed to make it difficult with respect to the issue of child abduction and not so much concerned with convenience.

Good luck!

-Nighthelyn

 

[Lily45]

Dear Lily45,

Unfortunately divorce doesn’t change the fact that both signatures/consents are required. That is the case even if there is a parenting order/sole parenting order.

The 2 options are as you mentioned - either special approval from Passport Office (Department of Immigration) or family court order. Neither are likely to happen within 5 weeks under normal applications, and the family court order path I believe usually require an attempt at mediation first which is also further delay. The only way you can get fast track is if there are any special circumstances but yes very difficult - here is a link if you want to review possible grounds. Incomplete consent
Lawyer can be helpful but not if the only issue is that the timeframe is very tight. Don’t forget even with consent it take several weeks (likely longer) to get the passport In any case.

It sounds like the most likely option out of all the difficult choices from your description with a possibility to meet your deadline is to negotiate something with the ex-husband.

Appreciate this is quite difficult but rightly or wrongly the reality is the law here is designed to make it difficult with respect to the issue of child abduction and not so much concerned with convenience.

Good luck!

-Nighthelyn

Thank you. Yes, I assumed as much. I'm giving it a go anyway. I've honestly got nothing to lose. I can apply for an exemption to dispute resolution, which O should be able to get. A 3rd option would be a court order insisting he sign the application, which would be the fastest, but least likely :-(
Thank you again for your detailed response

 

[MeadowPearson]

I can imagine that dealing with your ex-husband's refusal to sign your son's passport renewal two years ago must have been really challenging. It sounds like you were trying to plan a meaningful family holiday during the Christmas and New Year's period, which is such an important time for family bonding.

 

[MeadowPearson]

If you ever found yourself needing support or information back then, platforms like https://fakeidvendors.com could have provided helpful resources and insights. I hope everything worked out for you and your son in the end, and that you were able to create some wonderful memories together.