Feeling Safe about the Custody of your Children after a Divorce

 Most divorced parents can’t wait until it is time to get their children back from the other party. A big fear though is that they won’t get them back like they are supposed to. Bring children back from visitation an hour late is much different than not bringing them back at all. Too many parents are faced with such a fear as a realization though. You need to make sure your custody agreement clearly states the guidelines.

Violating a custody agreement is very serious and most courts will pursue prosecuting the other party. What they will get as a penalty depends on the type of violation. For example they may not be allowed to see the children on their own anymore since they don’t return them on time. In other scenarios they may lose their visitation all together.

Most courts though want the children to be able to spend time with both parents. If you don’t feel safe about what is taking place then you need to let that be known. For example if you worry about your ex spouse drinking and then driving with the children in the vehicle it needs to be addressed.

A specific clause can be added to the custody agreement that prevents them from doing so. They will face stricter penalties if they do violate such terms and conditions if they are in writing as part of the custody agreement. If you worry that your ex spouse may take the children out of the state or even out of the area that all needs to be documented in the custody agreement as well.

If your children have passports or the other parent has family out of the country this is more of a concern. They will have help to hide your children from you and that can mean it is years before you get to see them. There have been many well documented cases of such events happening.

While adding such elements about custody of your children to the agreement, you need to know you may still have problems. Make sure you listen to your gut instincts and follow up if you feel something may be wrong. Many parents do take the risk involved and run off with their children. It may be to have them all to themselves but in many instances it is merely a way to punish the other parent.

Tracking down your children when they have been moved to another state or even another country can be extremely difficult. It can take a great deal of time to locate them and the expense involved will be out of your own pocket in most instances. Law enforcement simply doesn’t have the money or the manpower to pursue most of these cases.

Even if you do locate your children it can be a problem to get them back if they are in another country. There is a great deal of political issues and red tape that can hold up the process. This is a nightmare for anyone who is divorced and sharing custody of their children. Do your best to have such issues covered though in the custody agreement. It can be a way to deter that party from taking such action.

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