family lawyer/international custody

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strawberrru

New member
Oct 5, 2005
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I am a US Citizen and currently living in the US. My 3 yr old son was born in the US (doesn't have dual citizenship at this point) and lives with me. I don't have any court orders at this point as his Dominican father (lives in the DR but has US tourist visa) would occasionally send child support and visit yearly for his birthday. In the beginning, we were communicating well but it has slowly become non-existent. Anyone recommend a good family lawyer in the DR that I would be able to ask some questions to? What are the dominican child support and custody laws? What kind of custody agreement might he be expecting if I take him to court (in the US)?

I have never discussed going to court, custody, or anything to give him information about how the US legal system works. I had hopes that we could co-parent well but he's recently made some life choices that make me question that we could rebuild our communication. We have a contract (non-legal) that we drafted with a counselor for my son's first birthday and he hasn't been able to follow through with that. I am already in the process of getting a US family lawyer.
 
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Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
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This may help to some extent - and it is in English.

https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreut...tPage=true&comp=pluk&bhcp=1#co_anchor_a381466

In my experience, where a North American woman has a child and the father is Dominican, living in the DR, they simply go through the local courts in their country to sort custody and forget trying to get child support. You do need to bear in mind that if you do bring your child to the DR, the father can prevent the child from leaving. Feel free to pm me for more information.

Matilda
 
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strawberrru

New member
Oct 5, 2005
35
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Thank you Matilda. I will send you a pm later this weekend after I can look through tbat website some more. I’ve scanned the constitution already. Also, any info in Spanish is fine as well. At this point, I have no intentions on traveling to the DR until I have court orders as the DR isn’t part of The Hague convention, and that worries me. Would he be able to prevent him from leaving since he only has a US passport? Is he able to get him Dominican citizenship without him being present? He had a picture of his birth certificate but not sure if he had it backed up and that phone is no more.

I figure child support is just extra money for my son’s savings account and nothing I can depend on. I rather have 100% custody or at least have visitation be on US soil over child support.

AlterEgo, I’m in Texas.
 
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Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
63
There is a new law apparently which makes Dominican fathers pay child support to children living overseas but I need to check it out. The state of New Jersey has an agreement with the DR that American fathers there have to pay child support to children in the DR, and that is enforceable. As far as I know that is the only US state so far. http://hoy.com.do/dominicana-logra-fallo-a-su-favor-en-corte-de-familia-eu/.

The DR is part of the Hague Convention, including child abduction - not to say that it works, but with a copy of the birth cert he can refuse to sign the departure documentation to let the child leave with only one parent. He will need his father present with his cedula to get dominican citizenship as far as I am aware. https://jce.gob.do/Registro-Civil/P...-de-dominicano-instrumentada-en-el-extranjero. The birth cert will need translating into spanish by a legal translator and certified and will need to be apostilled previously in the US. With the birth cert and father's cedula he can get a Dominican birth cert which can be used for Dominican passport and cedula.

Matilda
 
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