Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

By Ben Attwood

English family law attorney

On the international stage, the British and the Americans often like to present a united front. Our countries share many similarities. DadsDivorce.com is even visited by more people in England and Wales than any other country outside of the United States.

However, that does not mean that we have the same laws when it comes to divorce. The law in the U.S. is further complicated by the fact that it can vary from state to state.

As an English attorney focusing on divorce law, I am very familiar with the way the law deals with children when a relationship ends in England and Wales.

But if I compare the laws of England to, say, the state of Florida, we will find some of the similarities and differences between the two systems. 

Question:

My wife took our children to Denmark (where we used to live) over a year ago for a vacation that I agreed to.

She had medical complications that forced her to stay this whole time, and now my wife has said she wants to live in Denmark with the children permanently.

I have filed for divorce and the children are with me back in the U.S. for a visit per a court order while we await our trial on where the kids should live.

There is no child custody order in place, just the court order that the kids are allowed to visit me for a month.

What are the rights for fathers if they refuse to send the kids back after their court-ordered visit is supposed to end? I feel like if I send them back to Denmark I will never see them again!

Update: This contest is over. Congrats to our winner, Tony! Please check back to the site as we will continue holding book giveaways.

With Father's Day just a few weeks away, DadsDivorce.com and Viking Penguin Press are offering a free giveaway of David Goldman’s book "A Father’s Love" about one father's triumphant fight for his right to be reunited with his abducted son.

Just send an email to info@dadsdivorce.com with the subject line "Book Giveaway" and we'll select a winner at random on Monday morning at 9 a.m. central time.

Shortly after waving goodbye to his wife and son at a New Jersey airport in 2004, David Goldman was thrust into the worldwide media spotlight as he waged a 5-year long, and ultimately successful, international custody battle to be reunited with his son, Sean.

Goldman's then-wife was taking their son to Brazil for a brief vacation, but she refused to return from Brazil starting a complex custody and abduction battle that took five years until David was reunited with Sean. The case drew the attention of the international media, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Goldman has written about the experience in his book called "A Father’s Love," which is available at bookstores and online retailers nationwide.

In a discussion with DadsDivorce.com editor Matt Allen, Goldman shared the emotional toll of the abduction, how he's had to overcome parental alienation, and why dads everywhere should read "A Father's Love."

You can learn much more about David and Sean's story by visiting the website BringSeanHome.org.

By Matt Allen

Editor, DadsDivorce.com

Because of the difference between Japanese and American laws regarding custody and kidnapping, Japan has become a safe refuge for parents who abduct their own children and want to keep them away from their American fathers.

That may no longer be the case, though, as Japan has endorsed plans to bring itself in line with the international child custody convention commonly referred to as the Hague Convention, according to an Associated Press report.