Child taken out of NZ

QUESTION:

I was reading some of ur blogs on some site and u seem like you know a bit. I’m just wondering if you could help me out with a few things. My ex partner wanted to take my child on a holiday to Australia, and i agreed, just for a holiday. A month later she rings me saying ” oh i think we are gonna stay here” . I was stunned that she had pulled this on me. I have a lawyer, and things are slowly happening. I am just wondering how long will this take for my Lawyer to get my child back to nz?. So far she has just sent my ex partner a letter, saying I have rights and that she should return back to NZ. I haven’t seen my child in over 3 months now. I just wanted to know, do you think I have a good enough case, for me to get my child back here in NZ?

ANSWER:
Thank you for your email. You should ask your lawyer these questions and not me! They will have the information and facts – I presume your lawyer is asking for the child to be returned under the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention is a very powerful law to protect parents left behind from their children. The process can take much more than three months. Has your lawyer taken formal steps to have your child returned? If not, ask them why not?

I do not know if you have a good enough case for your child to come back – your lawyer has the facts so you need to ask her opinion.

If you are unhappy with your lawyer, you need to change lawyers. If you think another lawyer is acting too slowly in this child abduction, be honest and tell them.

Good luck.