Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

I have full custody of my two girls. their ages are 16 and 18. Last October i took them on vacation out of country. I obtained passports for them.

ex-wife has limited visitation and it is subject to my girls wishes.

My girls do not really want to spend much time with her.

divorce papers state i would need permission to take them out of country.

Permission last year was given verbally only. after all this time, ex is talking about taking me to court for that.

given my girls age, wishes about not being with her and my full custody, does she have a case?

what could happen in this case if she follows through?


Asked on 1/23/10, 10:39 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Lawrence D. Gorin, Atty. Law Offices of Lawrence Gorin

First, you may have custody of your 16 y/o, but your do NOT have custody of your 18 y/o. The 18 y/o is now an ADULT and she is no longer in the legal custody of either parent. If she wants to travel abroad (or get married, or enter the military service, or whatever), there is no law requiring parental consent. She is free to what what she wants. That is what being an adult is all about.

Second, as the the 16 y/o, the best way to avoid any problems is to modify the divorce judgment so as to delete the requirement of mother's permission to take the child out of country. Short of that, you take a slight legal risk by taking daughter out of country w/o mother's consent. I say "slight" because there really is not much that mother can do about it (or would be willing to spend money to do). Do you think she would be willing to spend money to take you to court for violating the terms of the divorce judgment? And if she did, what is it that she would be asking the judge to do about it?? I think you are in pretty go shape. .

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Answered on 1/29/10, 6:02 pm


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