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rohini (self)     24 January 2012

Child leagal guardianship mother getting the gurdianship.

Hi,

I am a Hindu women, got married two years ago due to cruel treatment given by husband and family, I filed a divorce petition. My husband has agreed for divorce and has also agreed in writing that I can get the custody of our two year old daughter. He is also not interested in visitation rights. 

By the advice of my lawyer the agreement between us has been as such that though he remains to be the legal guardian, I get the custody of the child. We are having a mutual consent divorce

He had agreed to let me take the child out of country and that he had no objection and will have no objection to it in the future as is written in the agreement..

He has also given in writing that I (mother) can be the sole legal guardian of the child.

I am a working woman, may go abroad in the future and also would like to take my child with me. I may also settle abroad.

My lawyer says that I would need to get a special permission from my husband later in case I go abroad as she may not get visa.

This has really got me worried as he is really not concerned about us and will not even keep in touch in the future.

My lawyer says that we will need to file a separate case (something regarding guardianship act) to get the legal guardianship of child.

My question is as follows:

My husband already has plans to remarry, He will not be available to keep consenting or giving permission for various things. He has already changed his contact address and phone without informing me.

I have no problem if he remains the legal guardian, but I do not wish to run behind him for various things and signatures.

So I would like to know if legal guardianship can be asked (given to me) in my divorce agreement. Is it really required to file a separate case for guardianship?

Else if the guardianship remains with him, what documents would I need in case I have to take my daughter out of country on a temporary or permanent basis?

What could be the other area’s where I would need such permissions or approvals, such as during her schooling etc.

Any guidance would be a great help.



Learning

 7 Replies

Adv.R.P.Chugh (Advocate/Legal Consultant (rpchughadvocatesupremecourt@hotmail.com))     24 January 2012

 

Dear Querist, 

A lot depends on how the mutual consent terms have been framed. If you had the custody of the child as per the terms and the husband was not even concerned about visitation rights - there was no reason to make him the legal guardian of the child. Though in any case - you can approach the court concerned for suitable variations even if the consent decree (13B) has been granted - as child custody/guardianship orders are always of temporary nature and can be suitably changed considering the welfare of the child. 

As far as going abroad - you'd have to seek the permission of the court - which would in all probability be granted - In the recent case of Vikram Vohra v. Shalini Bhalla (2010 SC) Mother having custody wanted to Move to Australia – this was held to be no ground to deny custody –court held "she cannot be asked to choose between career and child – H already has visitation rights – suitably amended"

Take care

rohini (self)     24 January 2012

Hi,

Thanks for your reply,

I just wanted to know if these terms (agreement) regarding the legal gurdianship can  be included in our mutual consent agreement as both are in agreement with the fact that I be the legal gurdian and be free to take my child anywhere.

If he gives in writing as a part of our agreement  that I can be the sole legal gurdian.. will that be enough according to law or i WILL need to file a seperate case for leagal gurdianhip?

I really wish to avoid another case as i have spent 2 years only getting future dates..

Thanks in advance..


(Guest)

@Rohini

 

Dear Rohini,

 

1.   The fact that you have an attorney on record for your divorce case and you are posting very specific areas of child custody  that should be addressed in a MCD  divoce proceeding makes a reader like me wonder if you have any dubious intentions. You want an arrangment/ legal upper hand where you dont want to ever have to deal with the child biological father for anything at all- whether it is in the best interest of the child or no. You are assuming that your ex-husband and father of the child is an asshole. What if he dies- his life insurance can come very handy for raising the child OR what if you die, your life insurance and the child can be with the father. Dont draft binding agreements which is not in the interest of the child. Unbenownst to you and your learned lawyer, if the destination countries legal aspects are not considered,  a booby trap for you may be in the making.  

 

2. You havent mentioned your citizenship status, childs citizenship status and which country you are planning to go to. These are relavent to developing a legal strategy that will hold good in the childs habitual country, India and the destination country ( ? ).  When you are transiting between countries, you need to make sure that the law of the transiting country supports your actions. 

 

3. You may find yourself behind bars in US/Canada or any of the 60+ countries who are signatories to Hague Convention. Additionally, I or anyone for that matter,  as a non-legal proffessional or non- member of any law enforcement can file a motion to get you arrested and order the government ( of any Hague nation ) to take custody of your child under the  Federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA) (28 U.S.C.§ 1738A). An "imminent threat" is enough grounds.  Please read the attached document titled, " Family Resource Guide-International Parental Kidnapping" authored by Attorney General, US Dept of Justice, Washington DC.

 

4.  India is not a signatory to the Hague convention - your lawyer should know this. If he does not, please educate him by providing this latest reference material on Indias stand on Hague Convention. Article is titled,"Indian Law Stand on Hague Convention- report218". Authored by Dr Justice A.R Lakshmanan.

 

5.  You have not mentioned the background behind your bravado of going to a foriegn country with a minor child without first finding place to stay, stable job etc. Have you found someone there and all this is a planning to meet your new husband that you found on Shaadi.com ? If you have made all arrangements in the destination country, then the first thing you should be doing is get paternity established in the foriegn country. Indian birth certificate may not be valid, so you will have to consent to DNA.  You will also need the Indian divorce decrees foriegn equivalence. The Indian child custody and a equivalent foriegn custoy will have to be obtained. Moment the system detects a new minor child, several "other things" get activated which will include child support. Do follow the system guided requirements and get to the point where the foriegn court clearly states what is permissible for prevention of child abduction. In short, if you have legal and physcial custody in the destination country, then you can exist / enter the country without any issues. If you have joint custody, you may need the other parents consent. 

 

6. You have stated that the father doesnt have any interest whatsover with the child - this is one sided story. Dont lie. The legal requirement for you is to convert the status of father to that of a sperm donor. Sperm donor is not a father and father need not be the parent or gurdian and parent or gurdian need not be biologically related. 

 

7. You can PM me if you want sample petitions that may help if you are visiting US. 


Attached File : 764883964 indian law stand on hague convention- report218.pdf, 764883964 indian law stand on hague convention- report218.pdf downloaded: 128 times
1 Like

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     25 January 2012

@ Author


Send a exact true copy of current filed MCD Terms of Agreement Document to me tajobsindia@gmail.com  too, removing parties names / case no. / court name / drawn by name etc.


I feel like studying this interesting enquiry before us before making any comment.

rohini (self)     25 January 2012

I am not planning to go abroad right now and have no future plan. Since my husband is not bothered about me or my child I just wants to make things clear.

Also before writing about some one please dont make preconveived notions about what their intentions are

if you dont have  answer dont reply but dont humilliate anyone. I have been throught enough already.

The last thing i need in my life is people like YOU telling me about my LIES and intention.

Going abroad is inconsequential. But to make my future insecure in the hands of a man who ill treated me and has shown NO for my daughter is going to be bad. 

I think your reply is absoulutely USELESS.

All I am asking is HOW CAN I GET LEAGAL GURDIANSHIP OF MY DAUGHTER. Is it mandatory to file a seperate case?

1 Like

rohini (self)     25 January 2012

Previous reply for the person who made long post(Adam)


(Guest)

@ Rohini

 

I apologize, your post lacks several details for anyone to give you the one right answer you are seeking and you want to hear. You already have a lawyer in India- what is his take. You must have shopped around and found the smartest one indeed.

My reply is not useless - it is as useful as you have tried to understand it, at a minimum about Hague, which if ignored will only find you in international news headlines and behind bars.

You mentione that you "may go abroad" - Which country or countries. you will need to understand the nuances of child custody and parenting of those countires before you get your Indian lawyer to draft agreements between you and your ex-husband which may impact the childrens future and safety.  

 

My response is from the NRI perspective. Once again try to understand without tripping...............Outside India, there are sperm donors, fathers,legal guardians,court appointed guardians etc...If you obtain a 100% legal and 100% physical custody and come to say a country like US and with the little patience you have shown in dealing with life situations, it is highly possible that a slip here or slip there and you lose your child to the US government. If you have have documents showing there is shared parenting ( you have 100% physical but you have shared legal with your ex-hub ), then should you mess up in one of the countries that you are dreaming of may be going and may be settling, you can protect your child - the father can come and rescue. If your contracts / MCD is drafted in such a way that there is no father, then you are in a soup ! 

My response and points to ponder was to help you understand the risks of you being the absolute legal parent, guardian,custodial parent and going abroad. Your post indicates that your intention is to arrive at a point where father parental rights are terminated - only then will you not have to get his signatures. That is very narrow thinking !!! 

Once again, I apologize if my reply humiliated you, that was not the intent. You are looking at the world very narrowly - by getting responses from this forum, you may get a perspective that you would not have otherwise obtained by just working with your lawyer who is obviously not helping and by yourself. 

By severing the father from the childs life, you may be harming the child. Even men incarcerated for serial killing are encouraged and do keep in touch and involved in their childrens lives. 

What did you do to him that is is changing his phone numbers and address and trying to evade, avoid you. If he was a women batterer ,you should have done what other metro woem are doing - silver bullet in his arse using the 498 callibre weapon. But sister, given your aggressive response and short fuse, it doesnt seem plausible that you can be a victim ever. 

Just dont take it out on the child, please...

Love and kisses ( to your child )  and bring it on. I like aggressive women, It is a turn on. 


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