Question:
My wife had taken our 3 year old daughter earlier this year and was headed towards Mexico. She is a legal-alien of the United States and - I assume - also has Mexican citizenship. She has warned me of the difficulties I'd encounter in trying to find our daughter and, after much research, these statements proved to be true. Fortunately, the local police had issued a warrant for her arrest. About a week later both were found approximately 2 miles from the border; the mother was arrested and I'd flown down to pick up my daughter. Her charge of Parental Kidnapping is still being pursued by the Prosecutor, and the incriminating evidence I've since found leaves little doubt of her intentions. Even though we are going through divorce litigation, and the mother is only allowed 1-hour per-week supervised visitation with the girl, it will not last forever. My main concern is how to handle visitations after this method expires. The mother is an absolute 'flight risk', and my attorney is unsure of what to recommend. I do not wish to separate my daughter from her mother (even though that was her mother's intentions), yet I firmly believe that she cannot be trusted. This reasoning is reaffirmed from the approximately 20 times she has left with our daughter in the last 3 years. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.
Answer:
If your wife is convicted and is in prison, that will pass some time. It is possible that the court will just enter an order for a supervised parenting plan. Your wife will be responsible for the procurement of an appropriate supervisor. The Division of Family Services has a program by which people can take a class to be approved supervisors. Some university students can also be hired as supervisors. Another possibility is that the court will enter a graduated schedule. For example the one hour supervised would continue for six months, then three hours supervised for a period of months and working toward unsupervised but non-overnight time and eventually a more traditional every other weekend schedule. In this situation that may take many years and should not occur until your child is of sufficient age to understand the situation and contact you if there is a problem. Further your wife should be required to provide her passport to the supervisor or you anytime that she has custody of your child. That may not be highly effective considering the Mexico border, but maybe some deterrent.
