WATCH: How can a parent have their child returned to the United States?

How can a parent have their child returned to the United States without breaking international custody laws?

Indiana family lawyer Nissa M. Ricafort answers.

A parent seeking to have his or her child returned to the United States needs to work with an experienced international custody attorney both in the United States as well as in the country in which the child is being retained. It is important to determine if the country in which the child is being retained is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

If so, there are specific procedures that need to be followed to initiate the return of a wrongfully retained child. If the foreign country is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, then the parent will need to work with the foreign attorney to determine what other remedies or procedures are available to register and enforce the U.S. custody order in the foreign country.

Nissa M. Ricafort is a family lawyer in Indiana www.bkrfamilylaw.com