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How to Travel with Your Children Abroad After a Divorce?

This entry was posted in Child Custody Divorce Parenting on by

Do you love to travel and do you want to share this experience with your child?

After divorce, custody is awarded to just one of you while the other gets visitation rights. Another issue is whether or not you can travel abroad with your child and how you can do it.

Getting a Passport for Your Child

Texas divorces usually award the custody of the child to both parents. If the child is under 16, consent from both parents is required before you can apply for your child’s passport. The court then has discretion as to who holds the passport of the child. Usually, the child’s passport is given to the parent who determines the child’s primary residence. The passport can then be handed over to the other parent should they decide to travel abroad with their children. Provisions for other concerns regarding international travel can be settled during the divorce proceedings. Should there be any dispute, a judge can then help with the decision.

If there is no provision for your child’s passport in the divorce decree, the court decides. If your ex-spouse is against the idea of getting your child a passport, you may petition to the court. The court can either grant or deny the petition.

Issues with Passports and Travel

One reason why the court may end up denying your petition to get your child a passport would be because of the fear of having the child abducted by their ex-spouse. Though this a rarity, the reason is valid. If this is a concern that you may have should your child travel abroad with your ex-spouse, there are extra measures that you may take to make sure that this does not happen. You can either have your ex-spouse pay a bond before they go on a trip abroad with your child or enroll your child in the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program – a program that notifies you if your child has a passport application under their name.

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Hutton Law

Mr. Hutton is a Divorce and Custody Lawyer based out of Round Rock, TX. His background is with child psychology at Arizona State University where he received a B.S. in 2006, and he continued this by working with the Children’s Right’s Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law where he received his J.D. in 2009. Throughout his practice, he has been a strong proponent of utilizing modern technology to improve his practice and the representation of his clients. He currently is the technology chair of CAFA of Travis County and is committed to improving and modernizing the practice of law in Texas. If you have any questions you can contact him at timothy.hutton@austintexaslegal.com

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