What can we do if he doesn't bring my sisters ds back?

[anchovies]

Just wanted to clarify really. My sister's husband finally moved out last week and today has taken there 9 month old ds for the day. He has quite a troubled past and his dad took him from his mum when he was small (which he thinks was the right thing to do despite his dad being very controlling, maybe to the point of being abusive towards his mum) Although it is unlikely we are wondering what would happen if he wouldn't bring him back? Would my sister have any rights?

Just re-read, apologies for dreadful spelling etc!

if he doesnt return the child by the agreed time i would make no mistake in going directly to the police, i would also insist on telephone calls i.e "will you be bringing DS home at x, he will be hungry", i dont mean to panic you but in the day and age where just over a month ago a depressed father took the life of his own children i think sadly anything is possible, and you need to protect your loved ones.

as they are married he will automatically have parental responsibility for their child. If he does not return their DS, then to be honest, her only real course of action would be to make an application to the County Court for a Residence Order. It is unlikely that the police would be willing to be involved unless she had real reasons to be concerned for their child's safety. Usually it would take some time to get a hearing for a Residence Order however, if she did have real concerns (or indeed is bf baby) then she could make an ex-parte (without notice) application and possibly get an interim order which would then be served upon him and he would need to return the child immediately. I'm sure it won't come to this though (hopefully) and hope your sister is not too worried.

I was told previously by a solicitor although by law he can keep the child with him you can go to court as an emergency where the courts would take a very dim view of a father (or mother) doing this, give you residence and then the police would be able to act.
I am sure he will bring her ds back and I totally understand how she feels given his background.
Agree with bbp - insist on regular phone calls at specified times and be very strict with drop off times and pick up times from the begining so if a problem god forbid did arise then she would know immediatly.

Unfortunately the police will usually only get involved if there is a penal notice attached to the Residence order, which Judges are usually loathe to impose in the first instance. They will usually only attach a penal notice where there have been regular breaches of a Court Order.

It's terriable that parents have to worry like this.. And then they wonder why some parents refuse access. Esp if things aren't smooth in the break up.

Thanks to you all, he brought him home although 40 minutes late which had my poor sister in a right state. Is there a website that explains all this sort of thing? I think knowing that there is nothing she could do should he not bring him back that she will want to make a formal arrangement asap.

Glad he got home safely, even though a bit late. I'm sure there are numerous websites but I have gained my knowledge from reading books and practical experience.
The only way to make things formal, is for your sister to make an application through the County Court for a Residence Order which would, if made by the Court, set out that her DS lives with her. As part of that Order defined Contact with her ex could be set out. She should however bear in mind that the Courts have the 'no Order' principle, in that they will usually only make an Order if it is in the best interests of the child and if there is/has been a dispute with regards to Residence and Contact. To be honest, I would not recommend such a step at this stage as it is very early days and her ex did return him. I appreciate that it is extremely worrying for your sister but hopefully given time, they will fall into a routine and she will begin to relax regarding contact between DS and her ex. I would hope that Court proceedings will not be necessary as unfortunately they will just seek to increase any animosity from the breakdown of the relationship which will not help any of them. Hope it works out ok for her