Q: Am I under any obligation to allow the opposing party to leave the state with child while the divorce is in process?
We booked a trip to our country of citizenship several months prior to our pending divorce. My spouse is insisting we still go, but I'm concerned that my in-laws my persuade my spouse to not return to the US with our child. We are legal permanent residents, have jobs here and our child is in pre-school. I have no intention of going, but I'm afraid without my presence I'll have no control over what happens once they arrive there.
A:
You will need an attorney.
You can prevent the child from leaving, but you will need to quickly file the request with the court (where you filed for divorce). From the facts, you have a legitimate concern that if the child leaves Colorado the child will not return and enforcing an action in a foreign country is a whole new level of legal complexity, so you have a reasonable chance to get a temporary restraining order (for an emergency, lasts a few days) or injunction (more permanent).
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