Passports for Minors

Okay I need assistance with a passport dilemma:

I am soon to be divorced and have primary physcial custody and joint custody of our daughter.  Will I have to get her father to sign off on the forms?

I also think I found a loophole....something to the effect of parent not available to sign.  He is currently in Iraq and set to deploy back to Iraq in a few monthes.  Should I bide my time and try this loophole?

He is aware I am planning to take Abby and study abroad however is unaware that he could actually stop it.

Thanks for the help
Christina

BIG warning to you:  the father needs to approve of your taking your child abroad and custody re-structured accordingly.  Being in active military service does not constitute 'unavailable'.  He's available, just harder to pin down. 

Even if he is unaware he can stop it now, he can find out from any JAG attorney, especially if he starts asking questions about the amount of child support he pays or visitation.  And then, you're in trouble, potentially serious.  The UK and US are part of the Hague Agreement regarding child custody.  Taking your child abroad w/o the appropriate consent can be seen as abduction, and believe me, it's treated as a crime in the courts both here and in the US.

Lots of parents on this board have worked with their former spouses and partners to bring their children across legally and made appropriate custody arrangements.  It can be done!  But do yourself a big favour and don't try to 'loophole' your way out, b/c there really aren't any loopholes unless the other parent is completely untraceable.

A post in the parenting section could bring LOTS of helpful suggestions.

Good lucky!

I agree with Expat. My ex is active duty military and it made no difference at all. BOTH signatures are required. The only exception would be death and even then you would have to probably produce a corpse! No such luck for me. I nearly had to get a court order for him to sign to get the boys' passports renewed. There are no loopholes believe me. If there were I would have found them! Also if you happen to get his signature you also better have a signed notarized letter of permission or something in your divorce giving you permission to take the kids out of the country. Again, no loopholes!
Good luck!

I think it would be a small tussle but I think he would do it.  I can just play the advantage of "it goes both ways" and I wouldn't have to sign for her to go visit him if/when he PCS to Japan etc.

Out of curiousity how does it work when they are active duty?  My xh has been in Iraq since feb 2005.

Thanks
Christina

I think it would be a small tussle but I think he would do it.  I can just play the advantage of "it goes both ways" and I wouldn't have to sign for her to go visit him if/when he PCS to Japan etc.

Out of curiousity how does it work when they are active duty?  My xh has been in Iraq since feb 2005.

Thanks
Christina

Weird, my ex also had PCS orders to Japan (Yokota) when we split up. I signed away rights to his military pension in exchange for his permission for me to take the boys to the UK. Also he said if I didnt sign away my rights to his pension he would make sure the kids never left the state of NC. What an a$$hole!!
Now Im in the process of trying to get his pension because i had no idea I was entitled to half.
Good luck Christina!

The US military is a strange, strange world!!  Mine is more concerned w/ the cost of a plane ticket than with time he'll actually spend with her.  But I can point out this is a two way street.

Good luck to you!

P.S.  What branch?

The US military is a strange, strange world!!  Mine is more concerned w/ the cost of a plane ticket than with time he'll actually spend with her.  But I can point out this is a two way street.

Good luck to you!

P.S.  What branch?

YES same with mine! Its all about money money money... He is in the AF. He is actually on a flight at this very moment bringing the boys back from the USA. They spent xmas with him and have been gone three weeks. I have been going crazy without them and am so excited they will be home in the morning!

YES same with mine! Its all about money money money... He is in the AF. He is actually on a flight at this very moment bringing the boys back from the USA. They spent xmas with him and have been gone three weeks. I have been going crazy without them and am so excited they will be home in the morning!

did you ever find a solution to him expecting you to put him up somewhere?

did you ever find a solution to him expecting you to put him up somewhere?

We got him a place literally two steps from his arrival terminal. Its a nice hotel and he is expecting the boys to stay with him but they wont be. They will be coming home with me tomorrow morning. They have been away far too long and they have been homesick since day one. No sense making them stay another minute away from home.

My ex husband is a Marine (this is the part where we all bow down in a moment of silence  ).  He's been in Iraq for a year.  Yes, I know combat zones are never easy but he NEVER leaves the base and rides in a AC jeep from his ACd barracks to his ACd shop and back.  While being in a tax free zone for a year.  Do you think he could shell out 100 to HELP offset the cost of his daughters b-day party?  NOPE. 

We actually get along decently for now.....I would let him stay in my house when he brought the princess back.  He would probably do something stupid like let her ride the train alone!!!!

My ex husband is a Marine (this is the part where we all bow down in a moment of silence  ). 

lol brilliant
I dated a marine once, he always said "lead,follow,or get out of the way" on a regular basis
So I just called him Gomer Pyle on a regular basis...he didn't see the humor in that

LOL...I always heard  Sempter Fi F*ck the Other Guy!!!!  Or if you're gonna drive the bus (lead) do it from the front.  I always wonder though....if you're leading from the front how do you prevent getting stapped in the back?

For some reason I keep thinking of the psycho marine in the movie Full Metal Jacket.......

LOL....after he kills himself the movie goes down hill fast lol.  Nah....he's into the prestidge of being a Marine.....(inferiority AND a superiority complex) lol.