International Travel allowed?

My ex and his wife and kids are planning a trip to Spain next year and I need to know what the Colorado laws are involving them wanting to take my kids with them during their week and wanting to keep them there during my week too. We have 50/50...each has them every other week. He has provided me nothing in regards to any laws or things I may need to know about since we are divorced and he wants to take them out of the country.

ANY THOUGHTS????

Thanks!

Jennifer

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It is my understanding the Federal laws require your consent and signature for the children to get a passport, and that he will need to carry with him a signed letter from you stating that you consent to their travel.

I finally sent back the passport auth. for our youngest, who is under 16, because he kept putting her in the middle of everything and using her to keep asking me for it because "daddy needs it so I can go too". This was wrong for her to have this put on her, so I did sign and send this back, but I have not consented for him to go on my week too. I have no address, phone number or name of where they will be. He has provided me with nothing. I do have concerns I will be sharing with him. Some have to do with the trip and others about parenting issues with him. In regards to the trip, besides maybe needing to have a letter from me consenting to the trip, doesn't he have to provide me with an itinerary, phone, address and names of where they will be? Also, it wouldn't be wrong for me to require him to let the girls call me when they get there and before they leave.

Jennifer

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No, he does not need to provide you with anything, unless your court orders stipulate it.
Whatever your other issues with the father, I would encourage you to keep them separate from the issue of the trip. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity for your kids, and you risk looking like the "bad guy" if you start placing conditions on it.

He should provide you with a hotel number or a number that he could be reached at a certain time in the evening or something. Do you have joint custody? If so, then you are entitled to have contact information when they are not with you.

We have equal custody. One week with me and one week with him and so on. I do agree that this is a wonderful thing for the girls. What I have concerns about are emotional "tricks" he continues to use on them. My oldest told me that "dad doesn't support anything we do while we are here (my house)". She said this and many other things when he insisted that they keep everything there that was "his" and he didn't want anything at all going back and forth. He doesn't want anything from my house over there. He refused for them to be able to bring clothing back and forth anymore. My oldest is quite capable of packing her clothing things she wants for the next week and carrying her dufflebag if she wants. That was her way of being able to have some control over something. That was fine with me. But, he is really getting more desperate, I think, because what he does and says now is not so covert. It is more and more overt and the girls are really seeing this. I have them with a counselor that they see once a month. I don't go into the sessions. They are for them to express whatever is going on and have help in learning how do deal with these things.
Anyway, this is just a scratch of the concerns that I have with them being gone over sees with them for 2 weeks. I can not help them at all.
My question about travel was just what I was supposed to be provided with and I guess it is nothing. But, I am going to insist I have an itinerary, phone numbers, addresses of where they stay and that I want to be able to have some contact with them at some point during the trip. That seems to be all I can do. My girls mean the world to me and I a glad they get to go on this trip.

Jennifer

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An itinerary and emergency contact numbers would seem to be a reasonable request.
If you ask for them, rather than demand them, he might give them to you. If he does not, then ask him why not.

Both the US and Spain are signatory to the "Hague Convention on The Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction" - see www.hcch.net.

This would allow your "Central Authority" to request the Spanish Central Authority for help in locating your children - were they not to return.

I also understand the US has laws with regards to Passport Applications and travel of children which may be found on your State Department website.

This does sound like a fantastic opportunity for your children to see pastures new so my advice would be to let them go; with information and 'safeguards' in place in case of any problems once out of the country.

If necessary, revert back to your Lawyer/court to get defined Orders for this holiday.

Best wishes

Thank you for imput on this subject. They are going, but I will put "safeguards" in place for my peace of mind. I will be forwarding all of this on to my attorney for my ever growing file, but at least it will be legally documented.
Maybe some day, actual co-parenting can happen! Until then, I will be left to figure out all of the situations that keep arising.

Jennifer