Child Custody: A "Welcome Home" for the Goldmans

Unfortunately, not all child custody battles have happy endings, especially for parents fighting international child custody battles. But I am happy to report today that David Goldman has finally won his battle in Brazilian courts to obtain custody of his 9 year old son! He and his son were headed home earlier today! This is the culmination of a five year custody battle which began when Goldman's wife, (who has since died), left him and returned to Brazil, which was her home.

Now, we can continue to hope and pray for similar success in the other reported 3,000 cases of international child custody abduction, including 16 other children reportedly still located in Brazil. Here's hoping that all nations will agree to abide by The Hague Convention and other international treaties designed to prevent international child abductions!

Welcome home, Goldman family!

Divorce: Week in Review

Have you ever seen a week when there was so much "in the news" about divorce? For instance, we learned this week that Tiger Woods and his spouse reportedly might be getting a divorce. No surprise there, right? We also learned that the Gosselin's divorce became final. Great news for all of us who are tired of hearing about it! And we learned that Ivana Trump, who was formerly married to, (and divorced from), Donald Trump, is now reportedly divorcing her fourth husband. Again, no surprise there, right? But did you hear the news that country singer LeAnn Rimes' husband has also reportedly filed for divorce from her?

The news this week that makes me the saddest involves the previous post in this divorce blog concerning David Goldman's ongoing battle to get back his son from his (now deceased) ex-wife's family in Brazil. At the time of the previous post, it appeared that Mr. Goldman had won a much deserved victory in this international child custody battle. But sadly, since the last post, a Brazilian judge has thrown yet another procedural hurdle into Goldman's efforts to take his son home.

Here's hoping that each of these celebrity divorces ends well for each of these parties and that there will continue to be a lot of divorce issues for me to write about in the new year! And here's also hoping that David Goldman soon wins his valiant child custody battle and gets his son back!

International Child Custody Battles

Did you hear the good news today? A New Jersey father, David Goldman, has reportedly won a five-year long international child custody battle in the courtrooms of Brazil. Although appeals may delay a much deserved reunion, it has been reported that a Brazilian federal court has granted Mr. Goldman custody of his 9 year old son!

To briefly recap the facts, several years ago, Mr. Goldman's spouse had taken their son with her, supposedly for a vacation trip, from New Jersey to Brazil, (where she was from). Then, once there, she filed for divorce from Goldman. Later, after the divorce, she married another man in Brazil. Subsequently, she died. But her second husband then refused to turn over the little boy to his dad, Mr. Goldman. But now, after a long child custody battle, hopefully, Mr. Goldman will soon be allowed to bring his son home!

While every child custody case is different, this international child custody case illustrates the type of problems which might occur if your marriage to a foreign national dissolves. In such cases, it is imperative that you promptly contact a divorce attorney with experience in international child custody issues. For instance, you will want to research, with your divorce lawyer's help, whether the country to which your ex-spouse may be traveling, (with your child), is a party to international child custody (abduction) treaties or conventions. You will also need to carefully discuss a number of available strategies with your divorce lawyer.

Hopefully, you won't then have to endure the hardships faced by Mr. Goldman in getting back his son!