ne exeat Orders

Nearly everyone I know from the state of New Jersey has heard about the horrific battle Sean Goldman faced trying to have his biological son returned from Brazil where he was being cared for by his step-father after the unexpected death of his mother.  Recently, at the end of December he was finally reunited with his son, seemingly only after the case caught nation and worldwide media attention.  What some people may not know or fail to realize is that there are Sean Goldman’s all over this country.  Parents from New Jersey and other states are faced in a similar battle trying to have their children returned to them from foreign nations.

One such case is the matter of Abbott v. Abbott scheduled for oral argument before the United States Supreme Court on January 12, 2010.  The Abbotts were married in England and later had a child in Hawaii.  They moved to Chile where they separated in 2002 and were later divorced.  The Chilean court granted the mother custody and father visitation rights.  In 2004, at the mother’s request, the Chilean court issued a ne exeat order prohibiting either parent from removing the child from Chile without mutual consent of the other.Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Case on International Child Abduction & The Hague Convention