If you needed to leave the country quickly...

[need2escape]

And as quietly as possible, where would you start?

Name change and shameless post here for traffic.

Not doing anything illegal such as child abduction. Just may need to leave the country as quickly as possible and return to my home country.

No family here to help, some friends but not sure how much they could assist.

Own house which is mortgaged, car on finance, small loan, credit cards, phone contracts, the usual.

And my job.

House full of possessions I wouldn't really need to take with me.

Where would you begin?

Personally I’d just go. Sell the house from Australia. Leave keys with the agents. Sign a form for sale and go.

I used the estate agents with the reputation for being aggressive arseholes and my friends legal firm. She said it was the quickest she’s ever done and I chased everyone daily, sometimes multiple times per day. We had a brilliant mortgage offer but due to losing a house mid way thru a sale we had limited time to finalise.

There is no child involved here, just a pregnant woman.

Could you go on mat leave early, get the essentials and go ASAP, and sort out the practicalities once the baby is born? That way your child will have an Australian passport, so Australian citizenship, and the birth will be registered over there so he doesn't have a leg to stand on?

Also, PCP, you could sell your car to a dealer, and they will pay it instead of paying you, so contact your PCP provider for a settlement figure, take it to a dealership, and if they want to buy if they will pay it....if your settlement figure is higher you may just need to pay some extra, but with the price of used cars right now you should be ok!

I really hope you get sorted and you and your baby have a safe and happy future ❤️

If you're an Australian citizen you may have an old superannuation fund from before you moved? If so you might be able to withdraw some funds once you have arrived under the financial hardship criteria.
Can your family find out the right maternity care provider for you (public/private/midwife/etc) so you (or they) can make contact and arrange an appointment for just after you arrive so there is no delay in getting on the system?

Do tell us all how any of your links are relevant here?

And do you think maybe the OP is aware of the hague convention given that the entire fucking point of the thread is that she needs to be in Australia to have the baby because of the fucking Hague convention?

It's like stupid city on here today.

I singled it out because it was a very stupid post based on an earlier very stupid post.

You were just suggesting a bizarre and convoluted film style chase across the continents, none of which was of any use to OP. Why would she need to fly to Australia via Dublin or anywhere else? Travelling by train for a few days acrross Europe at 8 months pregnant....what the fucking fuck FOR?

This isn't complicated. All she needs to do is be in Australia for the birth. She doesn't need a fake mustache and glasses and montage of her slipping on an off trains, ffs.

@need2escape ignore pp there is no need to resign now.

Legally once you qualify for SMP your employer has to pay all 39 weeks. They can pay it in a lump sum e.g redundancy but you end up paying tax & NI and having to claim it back. Not what you need.

You have time whilst on mat leave to think through what you want. I would also think about taking the occupational pay knowing you have to pay it back. You will need funds whilst you sell the house but can repay OMP once that is done.

I would also point out employers/HR have discretion and if I had an employee having to flee the country I would be open to not asking for OMP to be repaid.

I've seen companies advertising quick sales for houses, obviously not at full market value, but some claims of it being processed in a week. You might feel it is better for you to have instant cash and the situation all sorted.

If you do fly please please stay very very hydrated, wear compression stockings and get up and walk very frequently! That's a long time flying for late pregnancy.

I'd leave a house key with a work colleague, get on the plane tomorrow, and go.

Everything can be sorted remotely these days.

Wishing you all the best OP!

Hi OP, I live on the other side of the world and have UK property and bank accounts. Before I left, I changed my O2 contract sim to pay as you go because banks require OTP to do any banking, keep the same number. When I left, my property was on the market, my solicitor had POA. The sale fell through, I decided to rent instead and organised this remotely. The estate agent can arrange for the bathroom floor to be fixed for either sale or rental.

You can get air freight which is like a big crate, this might be cheaper than a sea freight container or multiple cases in excess baggage. It also arrives quicker. You can leave the house furnished, just take personal items. The new buyer might want your furniture and it might look better for selling.

Redirect your mail.

Good luck.

That’s the point. At the moment, there is legally no child and it doesn’t apply. If she gives birth in the UK there is a child and it does apply. This entire thread relates to custody rules under The Hague Convention and how the OP can avoid them applying.

OP don’t forget that you would be perfectly entitled to travel to Australia during your maternity leave even if you intended to come back. Your employer doesn’t need to be told anything right now about your future intentions.

Australia customs are very strict about bringing in chattels. A friend emigrated there and they weren’t allowed to bring in certain types of furniture, so it may be easier just to sell stuff here rather than ship over for that reason.

If you have a low mortgage and lots of equity could you rent it out? Would provide you income. Pay off priority debts that could be levied against the house. Otherwise take the hit and sell asap to a cash buyer. You can sell from abroad so I would leave asap as you won't be able to fly super late, get signed off if you need to for period until you can start maternity leave.

Once you leave you CANNOT bring baby back with you if you return. If you do you could be stopped taking baby back out the country by dad.

Your company does not need to know you're not returning after mat leave, you can resign later and don't tell them you're travelling.

I do have 2 bathrooms in this house, it's just the one unfinished. But I still think it rules out renting.

So far I'm thinking;
Sign off work sick, trigger early MAT leave

Personal belongings out of house/get rid (might need a skip), just leave furniture.

Sentimental stuff in boxes. To go to storage poss to be shipped back at a later date.

Urgent things in suitcases/medical notes

Fit to fly note

PCP car handed back somehow

Solicitor for POA to sell house if I'm out of the country

Keys to a trusted friend

Talk to estate agent, get keys to them but not to market until I'm out of the country

Maternity pay to cover bills and loans in the meantime

Keep UK phone number for bank logins etc. look at changing to pay as you go

Is your ex likely to notice a skip next to your home?

What kind of work needs to be done on the bathroom? Could it be done within a week?

Check with your mobile provider how long you can keep a uk number without using your phone in UK.

Also, babies Dad doesn't live in my town but he doesn't live too far. So clearing out etc I don't think would be an issue, I don't think he's keeping that close of an eye on me. But it could potentially get back to him yes.

That's why I wanted to try and do it without too much fuss or without too many people knowing.

I know he can't stop me before baby is born anyway, but given how he is I can't risk any confrontation, stress or physical harm to myself or baby.

It's a really, really old bathroom which has been totally bodged at some point in history. The previous owners ripped up the floor and just left it like that.

I could just get floor put down, but the shower doesn't seem to work properly either. The toilet does work though... it really needs a whole new bathroom which is why I've left it to this point as I have one working one and no money to do this one right now.

I imagine if I had tenants in they would complain about the state of it, but I've never been a landlord before so I wouldn't know?

What sort of price would you get for the house (selling as it is) under normal circumstances and what would you be happy to sell for?

Your car might not have depreciated. Because of the lead times used cars are actually worth much more now. Ask the company for a settlement fee and then check your cars value on we buy any car- you might be able to make a quick grand or two!

I don't want to say my house price as might be outing. But I don't live in London so I'm not looking at millions... if I sold for the price I paid for or even less I'd still have 6 figures.

It really is a cash flow issue. I stupidly put everything I had into the house not thinking I'd end up in a situation like this.

I very much doubt that you need a solicitor with a POA to sell your house from Australia. I bought a property in London when I lived in Asia. It was no problem at all to sign documents and give instructions remotely. Can’t see why selling would be any different. Don’t faff about with solicitors, you’ll find it hard to find the right one and make sure your instructions are understood, it’s just wasting time.

I'd not bother with a skip. Could you use a Hippo bag and get it delivered one day and taken away the next to reduce the amount of time it could be seen by your ex? Is it possible he'd randomly drive by?