Trying to parent a child in a post-divorce situation can be challenging. After all, you may have to share parental duties with someone who has a parenting style that does not appeal to you. If your child’s co-parent moves your child to another state or a different country without your permission, you may face additional challenges.
Fortunately, if you have a comprehensive custody agreement and parenting plan, you may be able to avoid some complications. You may not, however, be able to stop your child’s co-parent from abducting your son or daughter. To increase the likelihood of reuniting with your young one, though, you can take a couple of steps.
Create a biographical file about your child’s co-parent
Child abduction by a co-parent occurs when one parent unjustly prevents the other parent from having access to the child, despite a legal duty to offer access. The co-parent may also fail to provide information to the other parent about the child’s whereabouts. If this happens to you, you want to have current information to provide to the police. Therefore, create a biological file about your child’s co-parent. Include a recent photograph, address and phone number for your ex-spouse. Also, try to obtain the make, model and color of the co-parent’s vehicle and its license plate number.
Give your child important contact information
If your child’s co-parent tries to keep your child from contacting you, you may not know if your son or daughter is safe. Therefore, give your child important contact information for you and other family members. Also, provide your young one with a cellphone that he or she can use to reach you. Do not, however, rely on the phone’s contact list to hold your information. Instead, write contact details on a note card that your child can keep in a secure and discrete place.
Virtually nothing in life is worse than trying to track down an abducted child. If you do not believe you can trust your child’s co-parent not to abduct your son or daughter, you must be proactive. With a bit of effort, you can likely increase the likelihood of reuniting with your abducted child.
