Please can someone clarify the law in the Dominican Republic regarding rights of custody over children born to a non married couple. Do both the mother and father share rights of custody or is the right of custody solely on the mother, given that the couple are not married?
I think the mother and father have joint rights but just wanted to check.
I am aware that the Dominican Republic joined the Hague Convention earlier this year and I ask the above question in regard to the following scenario:
An unmarried couple who are living in the DR have a child together and they later split up - what rights does the father have in terms of custody of the child, if, say, the mother wished to leave the DR with the child?
I think that the father would have joint right to custody of the child and therefore could prevent the mother taking the child out of the DR (child abduction)......I believe that in order for the mother to be allowed to take the child she would either have to get a) the consent of the father or b) the consent of the court by proving that it was in the child's best interests.
I have another couple of questions off the back of the above - what proof do you need to show in order to claim that it's in the child's best interests? I think I remember reading somewhere that Dominican law states that children under 4 years of age should remain with the mother - however, does this still hold if the mother wants to take the child out of the country?
Just wanted to check whether my assumptions above are correct.
Thanks in advance
Daydream
I think the mother and father have joint rights but just wanted to check.
I am aware that the Dominican Republic joined the Hague Convention earlier this year and I ask the above question in regard to the following scenario:
An unmarried couple who are living in the DR have a child together and they later split up - what rights does the father have in terms of custody of the child, if, say, the mother wished to leave the DR with the child?
I think that the father would have joint right to custody of the child and therefore could prevent the mother taking the child out of the DR (child abduction)......I believe that in order for the mother to be allowed to take the child she would either have to get a) the consent of the father or b) the consent of the court by proving that it was in the child's best interests.
I have another couple of questions off the back of the above - what proof do you need to show in order to claim that it's in the child's best interests? I think I remember reading somewhere that Dominican law states that children under 4 years of age should remain with the mother - however, does this still hold if the mother wants to take the child out of the country?
Just wanted to check whether my assumptions above are correct.
Thanks in advance
Daydream