Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

This article is a practical guide for attorneys litigating custody cases in New
York State in which the client, typically the mother of the child or children,
is a victim of abuse and has fled either to or from New York. Specifically, this
article addresses several questions commonly asked by clients:
Can I leave New York with my children and, if so, what
happens if the abuser files a custody case in New York?
Can I file for custody in New York even though I recently
moved here from another state?
Could I or my abuser be charged with kidnapping if one of us
leaves with the child without the court’s permission? and
What do I do if he takes the child out of the country?
7
Moving On: UCCJEA, The Hague Convention,
and Relocation
by Liberty Aldrich and Lauren Shapiro
These are complicated areas of practice and each case has to be carefully
analyzed on its own particular facts. To help advocates begin that analysis,
the first part of this article, “Applicable Law,” provides a brief synopsis of
each of the critical applicable laws, including the the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), the Hague Convention and the
New York State Penal Code’s kidnapping statue. “Escaping Violence” addresses
some common scenarios and covers critical paternity issues and New York’s
relocation case law.