My Husband Is Threatening To Kidnap My Child

Dear Famularo & Associates:

Custody information and Divorce help provided by an experienced family law and divorce attorney serving the Temecula, Murrieta, and Hemet areas of Riverside County, California.

I have a two year old and my husband is from Iran. I want to file for divorce, but he told me if I did he would take our child and go to Iran and I would never find them. I believe him. He can do this. What should I do?--C. T. in Escondido

Dear C.T.:

You need to obtain a good attorney, and fast. Your question is a very difficult one and would require an extensive interview before I could give you specific answers. However, I can give you some direction. Iran is not a member of the Haugue Convention. If your child was kidnapped and taken to Iran, the United States government would have no way to help you get custody of your child back. You would be on your own, and would likely never see your child again.

It is very important to make sure your child never leaves the country with your husband. You need to hire an attorney to file for divorce and then to secretly go into court for you and get a court order for supervised visitation. This court order who prohibit your husband from being alone with your child without a professional monitor present. This is called supervised visitation. You also need to get a court to seize your child's passport. These types of court orders could be obtained by a good attorney in a day or two.

If there is domestic violence in this marriage, and I suspect there is (domestic violence rarely includes physical abuse), you can further limit your husband's ability to have visitation alone with your child for up to five years. You can also get a court order forcing your husband to immediately move out of the house, and to stay away from you and your child. You need a competent attorney to thoroughly interview you to properly assess your situation and to then advise you of all your legal options.

What you need to know, C.T., is that you do not have to live your life in fear, and that there are laws designed to help you. People in your situation commonly do not work and do not have access to money. If this is true about you, your local courthouse will have a domestic violence center or a legal help center. There will be people there who can give you legal advice and help you obtain court orders to protect you and your child. Act now, before it is too late.

-- Famularo & Associates

If you live in the Temecula, Murrieta, Hemet or Riverside areas of Riverside County, California and have any questions about obtaining child custody or visitation rights or if you need divorce information, please feel free to contact our office to set up an appointment with a divorce lawyer at: (951) 816-9543.

For more information, please visit one of our websites: Temecula Family Lawyer, Divorce Attorney, Family Law Information