To not allow my child to fly to the states

[trustissues75]

Ugh, where to start. I've just about had enough and at my wit's end. In a nutshell my not so DH abandoned me and my son in the UK in March 2010. Since then he has quit his job, moved to the USA, lied, cheated, witheld all of our belongings save for a couple of small bags of clothes. He has bullied me, told me unless I send the boy to the states that he would go for full custody and have son removed permenantly from the UK. He has mad an application in the states trying to make out I've abducted our son, he has lied about his finances, he has lied about how this all came about. He has consistently ignored my solicitors correspondance, has tried to say I've secreted son away from him because I wouldn't give him our exact address out of fear of abduction, has tried to discredit me with my solicitor and has gotten his lawyer to call me personally to try to talk to me about me "refusing to share time" with our son. He has ignored a residence order issued here in the UK and denys any knowledge of it. He has refused to come and visit (supervised as per solicitors' advice) refuses to skype with son (lawyer has told him not to). He calls twice a week. He has made accusations of child abuse, of me being on antipsychotic medications (I'm not). We have a concilliatory hearing next week at the court to try to sort out visitation, but he wont be appearing because he denys that he's had any correspondance from the court. He left us with nothing. And now, to top it all, he has stopped sending child support (verbal agreement) unless I put the boy on a plane. He knows that doing this will put us at risk of homelessness and some days I seriously consider agreeing to his demands and sending the boy over...against the advice of every lawyer/solicitor I've spoken to. I just can't take any more. Every day I question myself: whether I am the bitch he's making me out to be, whether I am the bad mother he makes me out to be, whether it's me who's perception is screwed. I've just had enough and really dont' know what to do anymore.

[squeakytoy]

You need to be in the Legal Section I think, but no, dont put your child on a plane, as from what you have written, I doubt your ex would allow him to come back.

You really do need to sort this out via the courts.

You are not a bitch, nor a bad mother, and from what you have written it doesnt sound like your perception is skewed either.

[aquafunf]

don't put your child on a plane. it sounds like you would never see him again.
assuming you are uk resident, work out how you can live without the child support that he is not sending. think of it like being the single parent you are. any extra that turns up is a bonus.

legal stuff, i dont know but it sounds like your solicitor has it covered.

you are not the bitch he is making you out to be. you are a strong woman, not agreeing with him and not bending at will

keep at it.

[Ghoulwithadragontattoo]

Do not send your son anywhere. Listen to your solicitor they have your best interests at heart.

[dreamingbohemian]

Oh god, I'm so sorry.

Do NOT send your son there. It will not solve any problems and could be very damaging for him. It's also incredibly easy to disappear in the states, you must not risk it.

If you have a good solicitor, follow their advice. You are NOT psycho or a bitch or a bad mum. He is clearly deranged.

[WorraLiberty]

No, don't send your son anywhere

I agree, it doesn't sound as though he'd send him back

[AThingInYourLife]

Don't send him.

[JustHecate]

Are you british or american?

Just wondering if that would make any difference - I am not a lawyer but I am wondering if your and your son's nationality would make a difference - if your husband is going through US courts, would they be able to rule if you are UK citizens?

You really really really need to go to court here and have some sort of order banning him from taking your son out of the country. Go get additional legal advice. There are lawyers who specialise in this sort of thing.

[OhTheConfusion]

Please do not send your son anywhere. Seek further advice.

Do you have family in the uk?

[ZZZenAgain]

under the circumstances I think you would be quite mad to send your son to him in USA. He quite obviously wants to keep him there.

[ceebie]

Sorry, just wondering, do you always refer to your son as "the boy"? I'm not having a go at you, everyone has their own expressions, just seems to me a slightly odd way to refer to your DS?

[ZZZenAgain]

I agree with Hecate, I think you must try and get a court decision in the UK. Please speak to your solicitor about the advisability of doing this and how to go about it. Sorry the financial side of things is getting overwhelming. I know so little about all this , I wouldn't like to advise you incorrectly. I hope things get better, surely they will be settled in time and he will calm down

[Skelacia]

ceebie I refer to my DS as The Boy all the time and DD as The Girl, doesn't mean anything untoward, just the nickname of the moment. (At the risk of outing myself it used to be Senor Ambassador Chubbley du Cronkyponts for the boy but that's a bit of a mouthful )

[canihavesome]

Is the boy a US citizen and are both you and his dad? US courts are usually very reluctant to grant residency of their citizens to a parent living outside the USA.

[mummytime]

Do not allow the boy out of the UK. Listen to your lawyer.
You should probably contact the UK ports, to alert them that someone might try to take your son out of the country.
Stop taking any phone calls from him, make all communication come through your solicitors. Keep records of all offered access, but it should not be unsupervised.

You need to check what benefits you are entitled to and ensure you are getting all you can. If your solicitor cannot advise on this, go and talk to your CAB.

Do not be quiet, but make sure everyone knows what is going on.

[dreamingbohemian]

Yes I refer to DS as The Boy all the time as well.

Canihavesome, I think it's a bit different if the child is already resident in the other country and the subject of legal proceedings in that country.

If the child is in the UK, is also a UK citizen, has a British mum, the divorce and custody are being handled by the UK courts, then I don't think the US would swoop in and challenge the UK court rulings. Even if they did, I don't see how they would be enforceable.

[trustissues75]

Thank you ladies. This is a regular occurance for me - questioning myself - becaue he's so good at getting you to believe you are the one who is wrong.

I do have family in the UK (I'm UK born and bred) and I dont think I would have made it this far without them.

"The Boy", yes, I use it a lot of the time when referring to him on the net, but it is meant with the greatest of affections (and we used to refer to him as Grumplestiltskin as a baby :) )

I have an interim residence order at the moment - the ex did not show at the hearing here in the UK and so the judge granted maintaining the "status" quo and set another hearing in the hopes that the ex would make an appearance (telephonicaly) - I guess that won't be happening next week though since he obviously won't be attending the hearing - which again probably puts us back at square one again and another hearing..all the while the barrister's and solicitor's legal fees racking up on the meter.

The US application - I spoke to a very very knowledgable US attorney a week agao (who had actually had an e-mail fro the ex just a few weeks earlier with his story of this crazed nut job of a woman who had abducted his child and had never in 5 years looked after his son) and this lawyer assured me that the US has absoloutly no jurisdiction since son has never lived in the state from where the petition originated and since the boy has lived in the UK for a year and has an active residence order in place that the US court will be forced to defer to the UK jurisdiction, but that doesn't help my worry and distrss. The ex is so calm and cool and collected about it all it makes me wonder what he has up his sleeve. Logic tells me nothing, I've even read and re-read the particular piece of state legislature that referrs to decicions regarding venue and jurisdiction myself and it clearly states that there is no jurisdiction. With the help of a US lawyer I have filed a motion to dismiss and have been assured by 3 separate lawyers that the motion will be granted...and yet still I'm awake at all hours of the morning fretting...while trying to work and be a mum. It's illogical I know...but I feel so hopeless and frightened and I'm so sick of the bare faced lies. I can't understand why he can't just talk with me instead of stonewalling me, strong arming me and making up his own little version of reality...which then puts me back into the cycle of quetioning my sanity and moral compass. Friends, family, strangers who hear my stroy tell me he's simply on a power trip, using the boy as a stick to beat me with...to take away his power by not reacting, by just withdrawing from any conversation with him...I'm just done with the whole thing.

[Kladdkaka]

trustissues75 if he is claiming child abduction the relevant legislation is The Hague Convention. Here is some info I found that may help set your mind at rest.

[Kladdkaka]

Here is a link the The Hague Convention website.

[dreamingbohemian]

You will probably never understand why he's doing this. He sounds absolutely delusional and horrible.

Your friends are right -- it must be hard but try not to talk or interact with him.

[trustissues75]

Kladdkaka - that's what I though - and yet he's not invoked the Hague and didn't make any kind of application until November 2011 - which is a UCCJEA application, not a Hague application. With all the bare faced lying I have been often surprised he didn't try to invoke it - but then again I have written proof that he left us here permenantly and that he was going to return to us, permenantly, as soon as he could (that was before he went off on holiday, statred an affair and then called me up to say he wanted a divorce and to splease send his to to South Korea for a "visit" - of course, trusting me was going to do it, but fortunately a friend stepped in and told me to get some advice before I did anything like that, thank God.) Thanks for the link - I'm off to read...

[dreamingbohemian]

I'm sorry, he wanted you to send DS to South Korea for a visit???

I have a hard time believing anyone is taking him seriously, which is good news for you.

[trustissues75]

Yes, that's correct, he was stationed in South Korea...boy did he blow a gasket when I told him he would have to come visit here because of jurisdictional issues...but it's hard because from an outsiders point of view it could ben seen that I'm just being vindictive and nasty and he is actually going for the whole Parental Alienation Syndrom thing which seems to be so popular in the US and even British courts these days. I've asked him again and again to come see the boy...he's had the temerity to suggest that they only reason I want him to come here is so I can "woo him into my wishes" ie to persuade him to take us back....yes, sure, I really do want to endure another 7 years of thinking I'm this unreasonable bitch who is simply ungrateful and a burden to him....funny thing is I actually believed I was an unreasonable and ungrateful bitch who was a burden to him...and psychotic...and dangerous....and a failure....

[hiddenhome]

Please don't send him, he could disappear or bugger off to Mexico or Columbia or something Does he have money?

[trustissues75]

Yes, he has money - though he's claiming his income is zero (quit his job) but he has a fair amount in the bank - and that's just what I know about. Funny you should mention Mexico - the boy told me the other day that daddy want's to take him on holiday there - I have no idea whether it's true or just the imagination of a very imaginative child.

[stopthecavalry]

funny thing is I actually believed I was an unreasonable and ungrateful bitch who was a burden to him...and psychotic...and dangerous....and a failure....

Which is exactly why he is doing what he is doing. To some extent he knows he can play you at the mind games.

Sounds like you are going through hell but please try to stay strong and do not fall for his shit. Follow your solicitors instructions and keep your son in the UK. This is not a nice man.