Custodial Agreements

[Fred78]

Hi,

I divorced my Thai wife a couple of years ago and we agreed that I should have custody of our son. I moved back to UK with my son directly after the divorce. The question now is whether the parental powers are recognised by the UK authorities (the custodial agreement was made in Thailand, not in the UK) or do I have to acquire my x wifes signature for certain things?

 

Edited November 21, 2016 by Fred78

[MikeyIdea]

Hi,

 

It varies depending on where in the UK you live

 

Check https://www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities/who-has-parental-responsibility. There is information there how to apply if you don't have it too

 

The main rule is that you don't need sole custody really, shared custody is enough

 

Mikey

 

[cabanlit]

I think I have exactly the same situation as you. After divorce, I have 100% parental power over our child, and now live in UK with the child. However, "100% parental power" is NOT something UK law recognises. Also, don't confuse 'custody' with 'power' - very different.

 

Some time ago, I queried with my solicitor if I had the same 'power' here as I have in Thailand. Being a country that adheres to 'fair and equitable' legislation, I was told that, unless there was violence, abuse, etc involved, I could never get 100% power in UK law.

 

In practice, I do everything here without trouble and without need of involving the mother. Should she ever decide to come to UK herself and want to involve herself in the child's life, then she could do things which may go against my wishes.

 

Bizarrely, this means that I have a stronger hold over my child in Thailand than I do in UK!

[gbswales]

In the UK the interests of the child take precedence over parental rights.  The courts here generally believe that the child's interest is best served through contact with both parents, getting divorced should not be a reason for either parent to "lose" the child unless the child was in some way considered to be at risk from one or even both of the parents.  In the past courts usually gave custody (where custody was disputed) to the mother but that is something that is slowly changing.  Custody gives no legal rights of control but sadly the parent with custody will exploit the other parents position by making access "difficult".  Where two sets of legislation are involved because the child has dual nationality, conflicts are potentially more difficult because of the ease with which young children can be taken to the other country.  It is however important to understand that the concept of "ownership" should have no place in parenthood.  Even in a normal relationship parents are still just the responsible adult who should be bringing a child up in the child's best interests rather than their own.  To my mind this position is often abused by parents indoctrinating children in their choice of religion , rather than equipping children to make their own decision.  Parenting should not be confused with having power. It is a privilege rather than an entitlement.

[MikeyIdea]

3 hours ago, gbswales said:

In the UK the interests of the child take precedence over parental rights

 

I thought that Europe was ahead of Thailand until I studied the implementation of Juvenile law here and found totally the opposite. It is only the last 5-10 years or so that Europe and Australia has closed the gap to what has been common sense here for a long time. Especially Australia and Sweden

 

- In Christian countries, the implementation of Juvenile and Family Law follows Christian beliefs. It gives the mother/woman advantage in almost everything. This is finally starting to change

- In Muslim countries, the implementation of Juvenile and Family Law follows Muslim beliefs. It gives the father advantage. That's why Christians think Muslim law is so unfair. It's crazy, it favours the wrong way

- In Buddhist countries, the implementation of Juvenile and Family Law is straight. The child is really in the centre of a custody dispute. The court listens more and earlier to the wishes of the child and final decision is in the long term interest of the child. Marriage assets are split "what you had before you keep, what you made or lost together you share". That's way too fair for Christians to do

 

One weakness of Thai Juvenile law implementation is that it doesn't pay attention much to parental alienation but it is otherwise very fair. Another problem is about Thai lawyers but that is not the courts fault

 

Mikey 

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by MikeyIdea

[sandemara]

Fred78, according to advice on an English-language Thai legal firm website I source for accurate information on Thai law and how it affects foreigners, a child custody order from a foreign country carries little weight in Thailand. Equally, a Thai court order could not be enforced in another country.

Under Thai law, for example, if one parent has sole and complete custody the other partner would be ordered to provide a required amount in child support every month (at a minimum about 10,000 TB).  I suspect your former Thai wife would be aware of her obligations in that respect.  As far as you requiring her signature as authorisation for certain things related to bringing up the child in the UK, your best recourse would be to have a chat with a UK lawyer who specialises in UK family law, but I doubt your former wife has any entitlement or authority in  decisions you might make, as long as you have relevant court-approved documentation relating to the custody agreement between you and your former spouse.