Q: I married a British woman while she was living in the US. We got pregnant and decided to have the child in England since
It was free. Since then we have split. While visiting she refused to allow my child to go to the embassy to get a USA social security number. She refuses to come back to the US for a divorce because she doesn’t want to go through a custody hearing. What can I do to get joint custody and get divorced if she will not cooperate?
A:
You can probably sue her in the U. K.
Filing suit here would require you to have personal service of process on the spouse, which is not impossible, but tricky.
BTW, the child probably is a dual citizen, and that is a prileged status. He should not only a British but also an American passport.
I recommend that you seek out a solicitor near where she is living. It should be one that specializes in divorces and see if you can perfect jurisdiction there. Because she and the child are there, I am convinced a British court will recognize jurisdiction.
This is an area in which I have some experience so call me if you need me.
Good Luck
d
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