Child Abduction Solicitors
What is child abduction?
Child Abduction occurs when one parent takes a child without the other parent’s permission, or without a court order, and is considering leaving the UK or has left the UK with your child.
Child abduction is a criminal offence as defined under the Child Abduction Act 1984.
We can assist you in obtaining orders to locate your child and prevent them from leaving the country if possible, including by way of a port alert, and instigating proceedings to return the child to England and Wales.
Alongside our specialist child abduction solicitors, we work with appropriate overseas experts as necessary.
What is the UK Child Abduction Law?
If the arrangements are not agreed, a parent will be committing an offence of Child Abduction if they take the children out of the UK.
In any abduction case, time is very much of the essence. We suggest that you act quickly as urgent applications can be made to the court and heard that day with orders being made, if necessary.
The police can also be called to issue a ‘port alert’ to all ports and airports to prevent your child from being taken out of the country.
Our specialist child abduction solicitors can advise about when is the best time to contact the passport service to inform them of the potential abduction so that they do not issue another passport and if your child has dual nationality to contact the relevant embassy to inform them of the potential abduction to prevent them from issuing another passport.
We can also advise about making your child a ward of court, which would mean that the High Court would become legal Guardian for your child and freeze the situation to prevent them from being removed from the UK or whether an application is necessary for a ‘tipstaff’ order which can enable the tipstaff to locate and return a child, seize passports and travel documents.
If the abduction has happened, our specialist child abduction solicitors will ascertain whether your child has been taken to a Hague Convention country or not. If they have, actions can be taken to secure your child’s return to their last place of residence by making an application firstly to the Central Government Authority in the UK (the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU)) for a voluntary return and if that fails, by making an application to the High Court for an order for the return of your child.
If the country is not a Hague Convention country, advice will need to be sought in the country the child has been taken to as any court process will need to start there.
Our child abduction solicitors can help you to obtain advice from child abduction lawyers in any non-Hague convention country and assist with applications for the return of your children and to prevent them from being taken.
The Child Abduction Act 1984
If a child is taken out of the UK without the appropriate consent, an offence of child abduction is committed.
The Child Abduction Act 1984 sets out that if a person is found guilty of an offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984, they could be sent to prison for six months to seven years, fined, or both.
How our Family Law team can help
At Stephens Scown we understand how frightening it is for parents who find themselves in this situation.
Our dedicated team of specialist child abduction lawyers are passionate about preventing children from being abducted and being able to assist parents if an abduction has taken place.
We are empathetic and extremely knowledgeable in international child abduction. We can advise you on your options and provide the information you need to make the best decisions for you and your child to help prevent an abduction, or to seek the return of your child if they have been abducted.
Several of our team are accredited Resolution Specialists in matters which relate to children and members of the Law Society’s Children Panel.
Our team has been ranked consistently for many years as the best solicitors in the region for children and family law, in both Legal 500 and Chambers.
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