Whether you need help to prevent your child from being taken out of Scotland or to have them returned if they've been taken without your consent, our expert child abduction lawyers can help you.
Similarly, if you've been wrongly accused of abducting your child we can assist.
For immediate assistance, please either call us on 0141 478 9090 for our office, 01224 002 556 for our Aberdeen office or Click here to make a free online enquiry.
Parental Child Abduction Law In Scotland
Many parents assume they have the legal right to decide whether to take their child out of the UK to go on holiday or emigrate to another country. The law on child relocation is complex. If you are a separated or divorced parent, or others have parental rights for your child, it is best to take specialist child law legal advice before booking a foreign holiday or making plans to move abroad with your child.
Without expert legal advice, you may commit the criminal offence of child abduction or breach an existing child law order.
Child Abduction and The Hague Convention
If a child is taken out of the UK without the necessary parental agreement or court order, the 1980 Hague Convention may be invoked. The Convention operates in over 80 countries and has procedures in place designed to make it quicker for a child to be made the subject of a return order and sent back to their home country. The court in the home country then decides on what custody and contact arrangements are in the best interests of the child.
Our child abduction solicitors can advise you on your options if your child has been taken out of Scotland to a country that is signed up to the Hague Convention and on your remedies if your child is in a country that is not a signatory to the Hague Convention.
If you want to take your child on a foreign holiday or to emigrate, our child law solicitors can make sure you have the necessary parental agreements or court order so you cannot be accused of child abduction and made to return to Scotland with your child.
Relocation and Holiday Orders
If parents are separated, and both have parental rights for their child, you may need the other parent’s agreement or a court order before you can take your child out of the UK on holiday or to live overseas.
If a parent wants to take their child to live in England where the parent has family and friends or a new job, then that is not against the law, but the other parent could object to the move and ask the Scottish court to stop it or to order that the child should live with them.
Our child law solicitors will help you reach an agreement on child relocation to reduce the risks of allegations of child abduction being made and the court stepping in to make return orders under the Hague Convention. If you cannot reach an agreement, our Scottish and international family law experts can take court action as necessary to resolve issues around child custody, contact and relocation.
For immediate assistance, please either call us on 0141 478 9090 for our office, 01224 002 556 for our Aberdeen office or Click here to make a free online enquiry.