Divorce & Custody Hellllppp

[wkrolph]

Hello...

WOuld appreciate advice or any information that anyone has concerning custody and divorce in Thailand.

My husband is Thai, I am Canadian. Our son was born this past October in Canada and we have all his Canadian papers but nothing in Thai yet. His father is named on his Canadian birth certificate.

I am considering divorcing my husband as he has been very uninvolved when it comes to financial matters. He does not have a job nor does he contribute in any way towards anything financial. There are many other personal matters that have led me to believe divorce is the best option for all involved, but I do not want our son to have to go between countries all the time, so I would prefer sole custody. Our marriage has been very short lived as we were only married in March 2008, in Bangkok. Since that time everything has been horrible (except for the birth of my son).

I just want to know what the chances are that a Thai court would give me sole custody of my son. Or, would they give preference to my husband because he is Thai?

Must I go to Thailand to get a divorce or can I seek one from Canada?

I have contacted several lawyers regarding this matter (both here in Canada and in Thailand) and am waiting for their replies but of course if anyone has any first hand experience with the matter it would also be good to know.

Thanks so much!

[mrt273nva]

Hello...

WOuld appreciate advice or any information that anyone has concerning custody and divorce in Thailand.

My husband is Thai, I am Canadian. Our son was born this past October in Canada and we have all his Canadian papers but nothing in Thai yet. His father is named on his Canadian birth certificate.

I am considering divorcing my husband as he has been very uninvolved when it comes to financial matters. He does not have a job nor does he contribute in any way towards anything financial. There are many other personal matters that have led me to believe divorce is the best option for all involved, but I do not want our son to have to go between countries all the time, so I would prefer sole custody. Our marriage has been very short lived as we were only married in March 2008, in Bangkok. Since that time everything has been horrible (except for the birth of my son).

I just want to know what the chances are that a Thai court would give me sole custody of my son. Or, would they give preference to my husband because he is Thai?

Must I go to Thailand to get a divorce or can I seek one from Canada?

I have contacted several lawyers regarding this matter (both here in Canada and in Thailand) and am waiting for their replies but of course if anyone has any first hand experience with the matter it would also be good to know.

Thanks so much!

you sound very thai. when things aren't going well financially you want to split.

to answer your question though... thailand has no child abduction laws when it comes to married couples. take your kid back to canada, problem solved. if you want to stay in thailand then good luck to you.

[torrenova]

It seems though the OP is in Canada from this sentence "both here in Canada and in Thailand" so just tell him to bugger off, tell the police you are no longer responsible for him etc. This is presuming Canadian law runs somewhat similar to UK law.

If you fear abduction, inform the authorities and get something legal which blocks the baby being moved across a border or through an airport. Hide all documents in a bank safe deposit box.

If I were you and I think out of the box very well, then think about having his visa cancelled. Now do-gooders in the west will milk the legal gravy train helping causes like this but just watch this idea.

You offer to fly everyone to Thailand for a holiday. If you can get him to go first them great, just get his entry refused if he tried to come back. If you all have to go together, all fly but when you stop somewhere outside Canada to change planes, you lose him and fly back on the next flight and leave him to fly onwards to Thailand, never to come back.

You'll have to work with the idea but landing in Thailand with his kid will see all kinds of trouble and even potential blackmail for you to see your child or to buy your child from him (these are worst case scenarios but you have to be prepared).

[bina]

some countries like israel have a visa law that if the person is on temp. resident visa and is divorced, they lose the right to stay in the country . once they are citizens it is a different matter though.

bina

israel

[Boo]

Think the op should give some more info.

Like where are each parent now? Together in Canada or Thailand or in their own country seperately & if yes, who has the child right now?

Also has the op spoken to her husband about all this & discussed sole custody arrangements? It is possible that he will agree to a sole custody arrangement with pre-arranged visitations etc. Of course the op has provided no info as the current state of relations between her & her husband but if things are still amicable then imo this is the best way to proceed, esp if you are not in thailand already, as you can ask the courts put in place an order that the child cannot be removed from the country until this has been resolved.

[ThaiLawOnline]

Think the op should give some more info.

Like where are each parent now? Together in Canada or Thailand or in their own country seperately & if yes, who has the child right now?

Also has the op spoken to her husband about all this & discussed sole custody arrangements? It is possible that he will agree to a sole custody arrangement with pre-arranged visitations etc. Of course the op has provided no info as the current state of relations between her & her husband but if things are still amicable then imo this is the best way to proceed, esp if you are not in thailand already, as you can ask the courts put in place an order that the child cannot be removed from the country until this has been resolved.

I'm a Canadian lawyer working in Thailand. I can easily give you an answer. Canadian lawyers won't know about Thai laws and Thai lawyers won't know about Canadian Laws!

Divorce is a federal jurisdiction in Canada but family is provincial. In Thailand, there are 2 ways to divorce, by agreement of going to Court.

Contact us through our website (see the banner above) or at [email protected]

S.

[wkrolph]

Hello...

WOuld appreciate advice or any information that anyone has concerning custody and divorce in Thailand.

My husband is Thai, I am Canadian. Our son was born this past October in Canada and we have all his Canadian papers but nothing in Thai yet. His father is named on his Canadian birth certificate.

I am considering divorcing my husband as he has been very uninvolved when it comes to financial matters. He does not have a job nor does he contribute in any way towards anything financial. There are many other personal matters that have led me to believe divorce is the best option for all involved, but I do not want our son to have to go between countries all the time, so I would prefer sole custody. Our marriage has been very short lived as we were only married in March 2008, in Bangkok. Since that time everything has been horrible (except for the birth of my son).

I just want to know what the chances are that a Thai court would give me sole custody of my son. Or, would they give preference to my husband because he is Thai?

Must I go to Thailand to get a divorce or can I seek one from Canada?

I have contacted several lawyers regarding this matter (both here in Canada and in Thailand) and am waiting for their replies but of course if anyone has any first hand experience with the matter it would also be good to know.

Thanks so much!

you sound very thai. when things aren't going well financially you want to split.

to answer your question though... thailand has no child abduction laws when it comes to married couples. take your kid back to canada, problem solved. if you want to stay in thailand then good luck to you.

I find this post interesting. Just because I mentioned financial difficulties does not mean that its the sole reason why I will be seeking a divorce. You don't know me, my husband, or the entire story. I could write a novel about it and then maybe you would feel differently. Anyways, regardless of that, I do appreciate your post.

[wkrolph]

Thanks everyone for your posts. As for more information.....My husband went back to Thailand a couple weeks ago. My son and I are still in Canada. The more I think about it, I think the wisest decision would be for my son and I to remain where we are. I don't think that my husband and I will resolve our differences (there are many more than what I mentioned earlier, and not everything is about money), however there is the chance that he would be in aggrement to let me have sole custody. I could possibly go to Thailand in May or June to arrange everything (leaving my son at home with my mom) regarding custody and divorce papers - IF there is not a court involved. Does anyone know the steps involved in doing this? How long is the process? Should I get a lawyer anyways?

I would much rather solve everything outside of the courts and to stay amicable with my husband and his family during the process. I'm just wondering if there would be anything else I should be concerned with if my son is kept in Canada....if it did go to court would they be able to order my son to Thailand (he is 2 months old now)? My only fear in this whole thing is that my son will be taken away from me...even though I have done nothing to merit that happening.

Any advice? Thanks again to everyone for sharing here.

[torrenova]

You are lucky that your son is in Canada and not in Thailand. Make sure it stays that way. By all means remain amicable but if you and your husband agree on everything, then you only both have to go to the Amphur with your wedding certificates to get a divorce.

If you cannot agree on things then you will have to take precautions to stop your husband removing your child from Canada to Thailand. There are many ways to do this.

[lioness]

Generally in Thailand the boys stay with their mother and girls with their father. This is without going to courts as it's generally the accepted pratice. There are obvious reasons for this.

[wkrolph]

You are lucky that your son is in Canada and not in Thailand. Make sure it stays that way. By all means remain amicable but if you and your husband agree on everything, then you only both have to go to the Amphur with your wedding certificates to get a divorce.

If you cannot agree on things then you will have to take precautions to stop your husband removing your child from Canada to Thailand. There are many ways to do this.

How would I go about taking precautions to stop the removal of my child from Canada??

[JacknDanny]

You are lucky that your son is in Canada and not in Thailand. Make sure it stays that way. By all means remain amicable but if you and your husband agree on everything, then you only both have to go to the Amphur with your wedding certificates to get a divorce.

If you cannot agree on things then you will have to take precautions to stop your husband removing your child from Canada to Thailand. There are many ways to do this.

How would I go about taking precautions to stop the removal of my child from Canada??

The trouble with asking that and other questions, on a forum like this, is that people will tell you what they think is right. Some well-intentioned, others not so . I think that when it comes to the welfare of your kids, dont take chances. Go and see, or at least speak to someone who is QUALIFIED in these matters, ie a LAWYER. Coming on here might make you feel better, but believe me, listening to advice from wannabe lawyers and unqualified people is not the way forward IMHO

[nonthaburial]

So you were two months pregnant when you married, Perhaps hubby thinks he was forced into marriage due to the prergnancy and now resents it. My guess is he has buggered off quite happily and may be prepared to forget about you and son