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Child Relocation

Below are readers' questions about 'Child Relocation ', which we have chosen to answer. Further , and more detailed ,information on 'Child Relocation ' is found on our specialist website, 'Child Abduction and Relocation in Israel', www.child-abduction.co.il and also on our main website, Family Law in Israel, at these pages:

  • http://www.family-laws.co.il/child-relocation-legal-way-other-parent-agrees,
  • http://www.family-laws.co.il/child-relocation-legal-way-other-parent-disagrees,
  • http://www.family-laws.co.il/child-relocation-after-abduction,
  • http://www.family-laws.co.il/custody-parental-death.
    • What legal steps can be taken so that our daughter, a divorcee with two children, can come back home to the States with them to live ? They are in a women’s shelter now because of threats from her ‘ex’, who has a criminal record, was deported from the States, and only pays child support sporadically. She cannot make it in Israel without family for support.
    Assuming that your daughter has sole custody and wishes to relocate to the States with the children, and her ‘ex’ objects, she would need to file a relocation plea at the family court for permission to do so. The court will appoint suitable professionals to make reports and recommendations on the issue of relocation, and if the children are old enough and mature enough to have their own opinions, these will be taken into account. If, during the legal proceedings, your daughter manages to persuade the court that relocation would be  in their good, balancing all the conflicting rights and interests of the family members, and is the ‘least detrimental alternative’, then it will grant her permission. Clearly, the negative details you relate about her ‘ex’ are in her favour. Your daughter should seek legal advice from a family law specialist experienced in relocation cases. 
     
    A professionally drafted plea and correct handling of the case will increases her chances of success. Sometimes the non-custodial parent who objects to relocation backs down during proceedings, after the plea is filed, or if the reports are strongly in the other side’s favour. This can make it  possible to reach a negotiated settlement, that allows for permanent relocation of the minors, but also deals with the issue of visitation rights. This can shorten the process, saving both time and money.
    Do I have a chance of being able to join my husband in South America, where he has a temporary lectureship posting , with my children from my first marriage, if I have custody, but my 'ex', their father, objects, claiming that they would be at risk because of the unstable situation out there ?
    Yes - if you make a professional, well-reasoned and argued application to the family court to allow you to do so, and it grants permission, deciding that it would be in the minor's good, after having received reports from a professional it will appoint to make a report and recommendations on the matter,and after reviewing evidence regarding the alleged dangers raised by the father.
     
    In July 2009 Tel Aviv Family Court (Family File 52121/05) accepted an application from a custodial mother to take her children from her first marriage to Ghana for a year,where her new husband,a diplomat, had been posted. After receiving a positive recommendation from a clinical psychologist it had appointed to report on the matter,and after weighing up evidence submitted by both sides from academic experts regarding tropical diseases and the political/security situation, the court held that the risk of possible emotional damage to the minors by refusing the application, outweighed any possible physical or health dangers,which had been exaggerated by the father,given the precautionary measures /arrangements that were at their disposal.
    Am I entitled to return to Israel with my daughter, from a country bound by the 'Hague Convention',without being regarded as abducting her, if , according to the agreement I made with her father in an Israeli court before we both went abroad with her, I have sole custody?

    This depends upon the wording of your agreement. If ,for example, the agreement dealing with you getting custody also specifically deals with permisssion for the child to live abroad, but also includes the option of returning to Israel, then it would appear that your return with the minor would not amount to child abduction. If, however, the agreement does  not deal with this option, then a one-sided return to Israel with her, on your part, without the father's consent, is likely to amount to child abduction, and put you at the risk of having to defend such proceedings.

    How can a teenager who wants to live abroad with his father, and not in Israel with his mother, achieve this?

    If he and his parents cannot resolve the issue between them, and come to a court authorised agreement on this, then he can  file an independent plea for custody and relocation at the family court in Israel. The court will decide whether relocation would be in his interests/welfare. As a teenager, his views should  bear considerable weight, presuming he is found to be genuine in his wishes, and not been subject to brainwashing.

    If a non-Israeli mother undertakes to raise the children in Israel, in her divorce agreement, does this mean that she can never relocate overseas with them?

    Not necessarily ! An agreement between parents does not bind the children,who are not parties to it. It may be possible for an independent relocation plea to be filed by the children themselves (via their mother, their natural guardian). Furthermore, decisions relating to minors are never final, in Israeli law, as circumstances and needs change. A court faced with a relocation plea has to decide if the move is in the children's welfare/interests i.e. is the least detrimental alternative.

    How can I stop my 'ex' from relocating abroad with our mutual children?

    There are a range of options, suitable to different situations, ranging from stating your lack of consent/objection in writing to her/her lawyer , to applying for a court order to prevent their departure from Israel , assuming  she has not opened a relocation file at the family court. If she has, then you can file your objection in your defence, and argue that relocation would not be in the children's welfare/interests and would be damaging to their emotional development.

    Is remarriage to a foreigner something that would help a divorced mother with custody of young children get permission from an Israeli court to relocate abroad with them?

    Yes, it would be a legitimate reason, but the court would still have to be shown that relocation would be in the children's welfare /interest as this is the paramount factor in its decision making process.  

    The mother has a right to a personal life and her wish to remarry should be respected, but she should also show that  her prospective husband cannot live in Israel e.g. for business/professional or other reasons.

     

    If my only real reason for wanting to relocate abroad with my children is to get all of us away from my 'ex' , whom I detest, will I have a chance of getting permisison to do so from an Israeli court ?

    Not if the court finds out your real motive is just to cut the children's father off from them. Permission to relocate minor children abroad is granted when the parent applying to relocate has reasonable and legitimate reasons and the move would be in the minors' good. A custodial parent hoping to relocate must also persuade the court that  he/she respects the children's right to have a meaningful and on-going relationship with the other parent and his right to the same with them. A relocation plan must include suggestions for securing that on-going relationship.

    Which court in Israel deals with the issue of child relocation?

    The family court. It has primary jurisdiction over the issue, and only where custody proceedings have previously taken place in a religious court, and in extremely exceptional circumstances, will the latter have jurisdiction over relocation.

    Do I have a chance of being able to return to the U.S. with my young children, following the breakdown of my marriage to an Israeli man, as all my support from family and friends is back home?

    Yes ! If their father objects, you will have to apply to the family court in Israel for custody of your mutual children, and permission to relocate back to the U.S. with them. The court will make a decision, based on the child's welfare/interests, after getting the opinion and recommendation of professionals it appoints. The mother of young children, who is  not a native-Israeli, and whose support system is based abroad, has a good chance of succeeding.

    An Israeli court awarded me custody of my children. Does this entitle me to relocate to my native U.K. with them?

    No! An Israeli custody order gives the custodial parent the right to determine where the children shall live within Israel. It does not give the custodial parent the right to relocate abroad with the children, or to travel abroad with them on holiday, without the other parent's consent, or court permission, in its absence. If you wish to relocate with your children to the U.K. legally, and not face child abduction proceedings, you must either gain  your husband's consent, preferably via a court-authorised agreement, or file to the court for permission to relocate with them - and win.

     

     

    Where a Jewish couple make 'aliyah' to Israel, could the wife have a problem returning abroad with the children, if the marriage breaks down?

    Very possibly, if the children become 'habitually resident' in Israel, and her husband/their father objects. If she returned overseas with the children without his consent, she could face child abduction proceedings. To relocate abroad with them again legally, she would either have to negotiate with him and make  a court-authorised agreement dealing with the issue and ensuring his visitation rights or,  if he was adamant in his objections, she would have to apply to court in Israel, for custody of the children and permission to relocate back abroad with them.