child taken abroad bu son's x partner

After reading the last few threads of the OP it seems her son 'wasn't around' for a while and contact had to made through ex DIL which didn't happen.

Adding the weekly facetime calls but no visits he has with his children there seems to be a big chunk missing.

Good post icanhandthemback.

It doesn’t matter what his story is, if he didn’t give permission for his child to be taken abroad, it’s abduction.
Short of his being in prison.

Yes, Freya and Maddyone, you are quite right. Legally it is abduction. However, unless there is a situation whereby the child is not going to be returned or the child is in danger, I suspect that the police would not do much until after the return date.
I suspect that making a big thing of this on its own, without starting the route of court defined access, will set up an even bigger risk. If the ex won't go to mediation, then the courts will see that there is a problem and will be more than happy to help come to a suitable arrangement. My son had to do this with his ex partner. If your son is on the certificate, he has parental rights. Today the courts don't talk in terms of custody, they talk about the resident parent and without a court order, if your son decided to keep his son after an access visit and not return him, whilst an ill-advised thing to do, the ex wife would have to go to court to get the child back. It just isn't as clear cut as it used to be but as a child who was abducted by her father for over a year, let me tell you the repercussions from that action is horrendous and effects inter family relationships for a lifetime.
Your son's soliticitor is quite right, legal action won't necessarily make his ex change. There is always illness which can be used to halt a child's visit and a host of other excuses which would mean a load of court appearances with everyone getting more bitter as time goes by. Far better to try to resolve this with as little acrimony as possible taking the view that it is the child that matters most into account. Sometimes it just takes a father to ask how he can help make things easier for the wife in arranging access rather than just demanding their "rights".

There's a lot left out of the OP. my son's x has taken my grandson abroad. Yours son's ex-what? Wife? partner? What is her status? You don't even refer to her as the boy's mother which we have to assume she is. The weekly face time contact with the father tells me that the mother is the custodial parent. When OP needs to send some things for the child, it's the mother she contacts.
Frankly, I'd love to hear the ex's account of this situation.

Thank you freya. I already said this upthread but it was ignored.
So I will repeat,
Taking a child abroad without the consent of both parents is abduction.
No doesn’t sound like abduction about it.
It is abduction.

Glorianny

If. she has full custody of the child she has a perfect right to take him wherever she wants to. One Facetime call a week isn't much really. If your DS had joint custody and the child spent time with him every week he might have a case. If he really wants to play a bigger role he should apply to the court for joint custody.

Permission is required of Everyone who has parental responsibility before taking a child abroad. Taking a child abroad without permission is child abduction. Depends also on a child arrangement order, if child lives with you.
www.gov.co.uk

Who had the Childs Passport obviously the Mother.
So she can do this for a holiday.
Just sounds like poor communication between parents.

whogoesthere says she knew her GC was going on holiday but that doesn't mean she knew the holiday was abroad.

I think it all comes down to, is there a court order, and if so, what EXACTLY it says about this kind of situation.

She may be required to inform the father, but that’s not the same as needing his consent.

And you were both informed, the child told you. Not great, granted, but it may be that the child’s announcement preempted hers.

And since you both DID know about it, I’m confused as to why your son wants to try and charge her with kidnapping. Why didn’t he go to court before she left?

There’s some important information missing in the OP.

This doesn’t sound like abduction. It sounds like poor communication and hostility between the parents. The child told you he was going on holiday. That’s a job for his mum, not for him.
It sounds as though mediation is needed. It’s the first thing that would be recommended if an Application to court was made. Avoiding court proceedings is almost always best

Without more details regarding agreed custody of the child it is difficult to give any advice.

However, it is dreadfully sad that people are using their own child to score points off one another.

You knew that the child was going on holiday: he told you.
Why didn’t you tell your son.

Germanshepherdsmum

They may not have been married. There may be no court order.

My son and his ex divorced and agreed access without going to court. 5 years later she is being difficult. He has been told he cannot go to court without mediation first (which she is resisting). He has also been told to be careful about rushing into court action as the judge could come up with a solution that is worse than what he already has. (His solicitor also pointed out that court action wouldn't necessarily make his ex change!)

Doesn’t sound like enough communication between the parents. My birth father picked me up from school when I was five. He lied to the teachers, saying my mum was seriously ill. I hardly knew him as he was a naval engineer. I was left with landladies. It has affected me in later life. I think your son has every right to check out what is going on with his child. Oh, mum hired a private investigator and got me back.

With the existing background, your son needs to talk to a lawyer about this if it bothers him so much

Op, you need to step back and let the parents manage this

If a child is removed from it’s country of residence without the consent of both parents it’s abduction. That is a fact that I’m all too aware of although I actually wish I wasn’t!

Has the child simply gone on holiday for two weeks and will be returning? Do we actually know this? It’s still abduction if the father wasn’t consulted, but if the child is definitely returning it’s not too big an issue.

However assuming the child returns, I would advise that steps are taken to ensure the passport is lodged in a safe place so that proper permission is sought in future.

We would need more info here. Does your son really think she has abducted him, or is he being overly dramatic?

My understanding is that if the parents have joint custody, permission must be given for one of them to take the child(ren) out of the country.

Does your son have joint custody whogoesthere?

If. she has full custody of the child she has a perfect right to take him wherever she wants to. One Facetime call a week isn't much really. If your DS had joint custody and the child spent time with him every week he might have a case. If he really wants to play a bigger role he should apply to the court for joint custody.

She should have followed through with the FaceTime call or at least rearranged it really

But I don't think reporting her is the right course. If she has full custody, it may even damage any attempt to get more visitation in future because it may look controlling

Does your son share parental responsibility for the child?
Does he believe this is 'abduction' rather than a holiday?

If the relationship is strained now going down the route of reporting her for a holiday is likely to make things far worse... just my thoughts.

Foxygloves

I may have misunderstood the situation.
Does one parent (your son or ex DIL) have custody of your grandson?
If the latter, is there any reason she can’t take him away for a 2 week holiday?

He has a FaceTime call with the child every week but last weekend it did not happen

Sounds as if the mother has full custody.

FaceTime calls are available between different countries.

I may have misunderstood the situation.
Does one parent (your son or ex DIL) have custody of your grandson?
If the latter, is there any reason she can’t take him away for a 2 week holiday?

my grandson

Presumably your ex-DIL's son?

Perhaps she didn't mention the fortnight's holiday because she knew there' be an over-reaction like this.
Or has she returned to her home country with her son?