cross border custody

[mymistake]

I am a U.S. citizen married to a Canadian and living in Canada. We have been married 5 years and have two preschool children. My husband has been emotionally abusive to me for the past 4 years. He tells me often that he wants me to leave because I am a leech that just sucks his money. Yet he will not allow me to work. I want to leave and go back to the United States with our two children. I have a job waiting for me there with lots of family support. My husband tells me I cannot legally leave Canada with our children. He has said if I do, he will hunt me down and kill me. Do I have any rights at all? I know I need to divorce this man before the situation gets worse but I cannot make it here without any family or friends and I will not leave my two children. Please help.

 

[NYClex]

According to a number of international treaties and laws which Canada and the U.S. have signed jurisdiction in child custody matters lies with the court where the child has resided in the time before the court action. So this matter would have to be decided in a Canadian court.

You have to be very careful in taking the children over an international border without the other parent's consent, this might be construed as child abduction.

Go and get some counseling as soon as you can, either through a divorce lawyer or first from some organisation specializing in this field, which you should be able to find in the yellow pages, through a church or on the internet. They can tell you about your legal options and give support.