Last year my 9 year old's Mum moved to England leaving her in my care. I am currently in the process of working out orders as we plan to have her visit her Mum in a few months. Her Mum has expressed little interest in the past in having her live with her but I am still a bit worried she may have a change of heart and try to keep her.
I recently met with a lawyer who gave me different advice from advice I received from a family law specialist I met up with previously and now I am left confused.
If we have orders in place that state my daughter lives with me, is there anyway her Mum can just decide to keep her once she is with her?
The first Lawyer said no way, not under any circumstances. The child would be sent back and that to get custody Mum would have to come back to Australia to open a case (could she do this while overseas with a lawyer or does she actually have to come back?)
The second Lawyer said she could decide to keep her saying that she signed the orders under pressure or cohersion to get to see the child (even though I have been trying to get to engage with this process since before she left and she has refused). Or maybe she could do so or try another tactic saying she thinks the child is not safe with me and my partner as an excuse to try to keep her longer and open up a case overseas. (The child is in no danger but I am ashamed to say that me and my partner have had bad arguments in the past that my daughter has heard or seen, no violence or abuse but yelling and swearing at times. I know her Mum has mined my daughter for information heaps and maybe this could be used as an excuse to keep her especially if my daughter has expressed upset by it in the past?) (Please don't judge we have been working really hard to improve this and make a happy home for my daughter)
So how does it work? Are there circumstances where a parent can get away with keeping a child who has gone to visit them overseas? How does the process work? Are there and online resources that adress this issue?
Thank you in advance.
I recently met with a lawyer who gave me different advice from advice I received from a family law specialist I met up with previously and now I am left confused.
If we have orders in place that state my daughter lives with me, is there anyway her Mum can just decide to keep her once she is with her?
The first Lawyer said no way, not under any circumstances. The child would be sent back and that to get custody Mum would have to come back to Australia to open a case (could she do this while overseas with a lawyer or does she actually have to come back?)
The second Lawyer said she could decide to keep her saying that she signed the orders under pressure or cohersion to get to see the child (even though I have been trying to get to engage with this process since before she left and she has refused). Or maybe she could do so or try another tactic saying she thinks the child is not safe with me and my partner as an excuse to try to keep her longer and open up a case overseas. (The child is in no danger but I am ashamed to say that me and my partner have had bad arguments in the past that my daughter has heard or seen, no violence or abuse but yelling and swearing at times. I know her Mum has mined my daughter for information heaps and maybe this could be used as an excuse to keep her especially if my daughter has expressed upset by it in the past?) (Please don't judge we have been working really hard to improve this and make a happy home for my daughter)
So how does it work? Are there circumstances where a parent can get away with keeping a child who has gone to visit them overseas? How does the process work? Are there and online resources that adress this issue?
Thank you in advance.