Divorce and Child Custody Bonds

It is not uncommon in some relationships for a parent to fear for the abduction of their child by the other parent. As a result a step that can be taken by the parent is a provision for a bond to be posted whenever the child travels to another country with the other parent. This article will basically discuss the concept of the child custody bond and how this serves as a protection from abduction of children.

In some extreme cases parents who lose the battle in court have willfully violated the child custody agreement and attempted to flee the country in order to manipulate the system. Such parents may take the child for a routine visit and flee the country with the child leaving the other parent worried about their child’s safety. A recent development has been of the child custody bond, which is a financial incentive for the non-custodial parent to stick with the child custody agreement.

Basically, the parent required to pay the bond must hand the money or a portion of collateral, determined by the judge, over to the court. In the event that the parent violates the child custody order he or she forfeits the money. The basic idea is that the risk of financial loss will motivate the parent to uphold the child custody order. In order for a court to grant a child custody bond it is necessary that the non-custodial parent to be known as a flight risk . However, a parent can also request a child custody bond if they have reason to believe that their ex will violate the child custody arrangement in some way. For example if you have reason to believe that your children are at risk of parental abduction. The basic idea of a child custody bond is to create a financial incentive for the non-custodial parent not to violate the terms of the custody agreement and ultimately this can help to minimize a flight risk or concerns over the potential for abduction.

There are a number of other reasons for a parent to request a child custody bond and these include the following:

• Relocation – a non-relocating parent can request a bond for a relocating parent so as to ensure that the parent follows the custody or divorce decree and does not flee with the child.
• International trips – child custody bonds are used when a parent decides to travel internationally with the children. For example, if the other parent is originally from another country and decides to take the children to visit family in that other country, the other parent can ask for a child custody bond to ensure that the other parent returns the children as planned.
• Short vacations – a parent can request a child custody bond for short vacations, this is essential if one parent believes that the other parent may not return from the vacation with the children.

It must be noted that the role of a judge in handling a child custody bond is to set the child custody bond amount. For an Ontario divorce contact an Ontario law firm.