Worried about child abduction

[Croeso78]

Messy situation, 2 DC, and a very difficult EX, cant share much but he is mental!
At the moment there is a Prohibted Steps Order to stop him from taking them to his home country where there is no Hague Agreement. Now I got permission to take them on a week holiday, and he is fuming. I know he will ask for the same in the next hearing. I would not object to a holiday if I can guarantee he brings them back, my worry is, he might simply fly to his home country from whatever country they go to! I have an appointment with a solicitor, as there is many other complications and I realised I am unable to this alone, cant risk losing my kids

The court will bear your fears in mind, though any restrictions placed on him will have to be based on findings that themselves are based on evidence.

With a risk of removal to a non-Hague country there are hoops through which he can be required to jump - eg such as giving you security over assets in the UK (in the event that you have to spend money trying to get them back) and getting a mirror order in the destination country.

Is your solicitor a specialist in international child abduction?

I am worried he will be given permission to take the to country under the Hague, then he would remove them to his country.
I have text messages and voice messages, saying things around the topic but no direct threat about taking them and not returning them, this was verbal.
He will put any amount of money and would not care.
Still waiting to talk to solicitor.

Hi OP, if you're not already family with Reunite organisation, it's worth a look - they have lots of information on their website and they run an advice line.

If emotions are currently running very high, I'd consider not taking your dcs on hols yourself, at least until a later point when things have calmed down. I have an ex that can be very tit for tat and sometimes it's best not to poke the bear.

Maybe you could agree to both not taking the children out of the country until they older?

bibliomania Thanks will contact them if I felt the solicitor is not sure, I have a meeting with her tomorrow.

I might actually say I will not take the kids anymore, if this was the reason to allow him to go. But the judge said in the last hearing to cancel the trip is to deprive the children from something good.
!

This would really worry me. There are plenty of lovely holidays to be had in the UK.

If you take them abroad surely your argument against him doing the same is weakened.

Not really, flissfloss - the argument against him taking them is nothing to do with the value of holidays and all to do with the argument against him doing it is the possibility of non-return, and the question of ties elsewhere is relevant to that.

Croeso, if the judge carries on that line of reasoning, I'd explain that the priority at the moment is to minimise conflict between parents, and (as fliss says), you have plans to do a really nice UK holiday instead, so they're not missing out. I'd like to think that a judge would be amenable to that logic.

Thank you all, I am heading to the solicitor shortly. He is now asking to take them to the country with no Hague agreement next week!

I would lose (shred) their passports put a block on new ones and just come to terms with never having a foreign holiday with them.

Next week ? That's not good. Hope solicitor can help. - is it a specialist one ?

Do not agree to this. Look at my earlier post and ask your solicitor about all of the safeguards that the court can put in place. If they don't rattle a few off then go elsewhere for advice.

Agree with Collaborate. Ask your solicitor about a Port Alert if there's an imminent risk of him taking them (ie. so he would get stopped at the border).

Don't feel helpless - there are things you can do but you absolutely need the right legal advice.