Traveling with Your Child when You Are Judged an Abduction Risk

By Jones & Associates Law P.C.

You and your child’s other parent continue to have a toxic relationship well after it has ended. This can cause problems in your ability to co-parent. It could even affect something seemingly as simple as you taking your child on an out-of-state vacation this summer if you are judged to be an abduction risk.

What Is an Abduction Prevention Order?

An abduction prevention order is meant to protect a child from potential abduction, violence, abuse or neglect. If at a hearing or motion of the court, the court identifies a “credible risk” that a parent might abduct their child, the court is given the power to enter an abduction prevention order.

What Can an Abduction Prevention Order Do?

An abduction prevention order can restrict where and when a parent can travel with their child. The parent may be limited to a specific geographic area in which they may travel with their child.

An abduction prevention order can state that if the parent wants to travel with their child outside of the specified geographic area, they must give the child’s other parent their travel itinerary, a list of physical addresses and phone numbers where the child can be contacted and copies of any documents related to the trip.

An abduction prevention order can also prohibit a parent from taking their child outside of Pennsylvania without the other parent’s written consent or the court’s permission.

Abduction prevention orders also can impact a parent’s ability to obtain a passport for the child or take the child outside of the United States.

Abduction prevention orders can address other issues related to when and where a parent can access their child if doing so would be in violation of an existing child custody order.

Abduction Prevention Orders and Summer Vacations

So, can an abduction prevention order limit where you can take their child on vacation? Absolutely! So, in addition to ensuring that your vacation with your child does not violate your existing child custody order, if you are subject to an abduction prevention order, any trips with your child must be within the confines of that order as well.