A Texas father has been embroiled in an international child custody dispute for five years. Back in 2008 the father took his two daughters for a weekend visit to see their mother and he has not seen the girls since that time. That weekend, the mother took the girls out of the country to reside in Russia.
Though the father had earlier been awarded legal custody of the children by the Texas courts, he is now in the process of attempting to negotiate his way through the Russian legal system. The case is complicated by the dual citizenship of the two girls. Also, the mother of the girls vowed that she would have the father arrested if he was ever to show up in Russia.
During the past few weeks the mother of the girls died of cancer and it appears the girls are now in the custody of their maternal grandmother. However, the grandmother has remained adamant that the father will not gain custody of the children.
Nevertheless, the father of the girls was notified that he was awarded custody by the Russian legal system as well. Though many acquaintances have been raising money for transportation for he and the girls, the father is still not certain if he will actually be granted the right to see the girls if he goes to Russia.
Any parent involved in a child custody dispute could use the assistance of an experienced family law attorney because of the complexity of such matters. When it comes to an international dispute, no parent would ever be prepared to go it on one’s own. All such determinations in Texas courts should be made with the best interests of the child in mind. We hope that the same considerations will be made when it comes to an international dispute as well.
Source: KHOU, “Hope arises for dad in custody battle for daughters taken to Russian,” Jim Douglas, June 20, 2013
