Relocation & Divorce

As the world becomes smaller the transition from country to country becomes simpler, business ties are highly developed and the desire to experience, see, or even live elsewhere seems much closer to reality than in the past, especially to Israelis who come from a provincial place wanting to break boundaries and succeed a big-time burning in them.

This drive sometimes exists only in one of the partners, and the other side, which he feels satisfied in the place he/she live is willing to sacrifice his entire life for this cause relocation.

I want to write this article, for them and those fathers and mothers who sacrificed

For the sake of their loved ones, they work, family, language, weather and the list go on, and always see Israel as their home and the crossing only as a temporary place.

Before you go to make the "big" move did you stop for a moment and think, before you crossed the Ocean did you recalculate your decision?

What happens if the couples run a stone and I want to go back to Israel with our children?

Will I need to in this new place for the rest of my life? away from my extended family, what if my partner doesn't want to go back to Israel?

In most cases, these questions arise only after the couples get into difficulties, which lead to separation and even divorce, and then sometimes it's too late and there's no turning back.

Here some few legal points regarding the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Abduction of Children (The Hague Convention), which was absorbed into Israeli law in the Hague Convention (Return of Abducted Children) 1991, is intended to ensure that a child, taken by one of his parents to a foreign country without the consent of the other parent, is returned to the country where he resides as quickly as possible.

The principle behind the Covenant and the law is to return the child to his natural place of residence, from which he was expelled lawfully, as quickly as possible. Another principle is maintaining international enforcement of custody rights between the countries that communicate/were signed in the Convention.

The purpose of the law is to ensure that the custody of children abducted by one of the parents is determined only by the court in the child's permanent residence. Therefore, as a rule, the court in the country to which the child was abducted will take care of his return as soon as possible to that country.

The Hague Convention on the Return of Abducted Children applies given two cumulative conditions

The country from which the child was abducted is a member of the Hague Convention; and the boy under 16

The idea behind the Covenant maintaining continuous contact with both parents, if one of the parents takes the child away from where he lives, the other parent will rarely see his child.

What does that have to do with us? The foreign state can be considered Israel, yes yes our home ... If the center of your life is in for example NY transferring the child to Israel can be considered akidnapping.

What does that mean, the center of your lives? About that the answers are divided , and once you get to court, the judge examines each case on its own.

How many years do you live in the country you live in right now?

Child's age

What's best for the sake and for the child

How much was involved each in the child’s life?

Unfortunately, a written or legal agreement between the couple before they moved (before the relocation) is not valid.

Then how are we supposed to protect our interests?

What can we do to prevent this situation? What can we do in order to go back home to our homeland?

First, if the other parent is ready to move even though he remains in the country in which you live, it should be one of the clause in the divorce agreement as a written consent, and it is certainly valid in court.

As I mentioned, each case is examined on its own merits, there is high percentage of chance to return to your home if the children are two years old or less, as the years go by and the children grow up the center of their lives and their natural place of residence is the land we moved to and not our homeland.

Despite of all of this, here are some tips to preserve the connection to your homeland that you can present in court if and when you need to:

Continue to visit your home, if possible more than once a year

Sending the children to camps in your home

Teaching them your language, if you are an Israeli, may even send to Jewish schools

Issue for the children a passport from your country.

Buying a house in your homeland.

and continue the close relationship to the State of your home in all its aspects

Of course, needless to say, get involved in the child's life if at school or outside form school.

Nevertheless, if your children are, for example, 10 years old and you live in the transit country,

For over 8 years, the chances of obtaining a permit from the judge to return to your homeland are low.

And the only way to do that is a written consent from the other parent.

With all the tips I mentioned above it is very important to remember

The image of the father and mother are very important in the development and raising of the child, in the race of years as the children grow up the relationship becomes more significant between the child and the parent, and therefore the amputation of this relationship as an example: returning to your homeland without one of the parents can be a very significant failure in the development and growth of the child.

Quite a few cases I was exposed to when one of the couples talked about returning to their homeland in the beginning, but after the relationship ran into difficult, one of the parties opposed it.

You never know where life will lead you and what will happen tomorrow.

Think carefully before packing up your belongings and moving to another country.

Check for how long do you want to stay there, because it may be for a life.

There are those who will feel wonderful in the country they moved to and where they built their home, but there are still those whose home is their homeland where they were born and the relocation is a transient place for them.

"Every act of forethought"

Good Luck!