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guapoes20
05-12-2009, 12:57 AM
I am an American Military member who was stationed in Spain. I am now living in the U.S.A. I had a relationship with a Spanish woman which produced a child, though we were never married. The child is now 6 and a Spanish and American citizen. I would like to possibly obtain custody, or partial custody. We have never gone to court, nor do we have any legal papers on the matter. I have been sending her money each month for my son because I want to, now she states that I do not send enough money and threatens to take legal action against me, and also says that she will refuse to let me have contact with him. She has in the past taken the money I sent for herself and uses my child for her benefit. She also in the past went to the Spanish Government and stated that I do not have contact with my son and do not provide for him to receive additional financial gain from the government, even though I have sent money, packages and have visited from time to time. Here are a few questions I have; How do I go about obtaining custody, and what do I have to do? Also what legal action can she take against me and what should I be prepared for? Thank you for your time.

Unregistered
01-08-2010, 02:47 AM
I'm an American woman who has been on the opposite end of a similar situation. However, I currently live in Spain and have complete custody of my child. I just went through the steps of legally formalizing the arrangement with my Spanish ex, and the Spanish system is very different from the U.S. So here's how it works: If you did not formally recognize paternity before the civil registry when your son was born, which means you would have signed a request for a birth certificate, then you have no rights as far as custody is concerned under Spanish law, because you are not even considered a legal parent. (If you were living together at the time of the child's birth and the mother submitted documentation of that fact you could have been declared the parent without being present but your name has to be on your child's birth records in order for you to have custody rights.) If you went through no steps at all to establish your parental relationship by law, you will have to prove who you are, unless the mother agrees to acknowledge you as the child's father and give you joint custody. On the other hand, if you did appear before the civil registry and you are documented as the child's father, then you automatically have all parental rights of a father, unless those rights have been taken away or restricted in a prior legal proceeding which you indicated is not the case. All you would have to do is either get the mother to agree to a plan of shared custody that you work out between the two of you, or, if she refuses, get a Spanish lawyer and enforce your rights in the court where your child resides.

You stated that your child is both a Spanish citizen and a U.S. citizen so it appears that your relationship to him was formalized at some point since he has obtained a U.S. birth record. (Otherwise this would not be possible since he has never lived in the US unless of course he was born on a U.S. base where you were present and you obtained a birth record from the U.S. consulate or embassy.)

An72
09-17-2010, 09:40 AM
The fathers' rights movement arose in response to the perception that fathers were not being given equal treatment in Child Custody (http://www.dna-paternity-test.net/child-custody-rights.htm) litigation. Obtaining recognition that a "traditional" division of parental roles during a marriage does not necessarily mean that the father should not be considered as a custodian following divorce. Children are best served by being in the care of both parents, and thus there should be a legal presumption of joint physical custody and equal parenting time following divorce. Fathers are at a disadvantage throughout the entire custody litigation process. In response to this movement, a number of lawyers and law firms hold themselves out as "fathers' rights" firms, claiming to represent only men, and to have special expertise in litigating custody cases on behalf of fathers. In response, a number of firms have arisen which claim to represent only women and mothers.

Unregistered
02-02-2012, 06:23 PM
I am a US mother who was married to her Spanish husband in the United States. My baby was born in Spain and is now a year old. I was told that if I was to divorce my husband, I wouldn't be able to move back to the United States with him. Is this true?

Patricia
02-16-2012, 04:30 PM
Hello,

If there is no agreement between both parents at the time of the divorce, a judge will determine who has custody of the child ( shared custody or just one parent custody ). The judge will study the particular case and consider the most convenient circumstances for the child. If the judge considers that the child will have better living conditions and cares in the US with his/her mother, he will rule in its favor. As the answer to you query depends on many factors and on a court ruling, I cannot provide with a definite answer. It is different if both parents get to an agreement; which is normally the best option.

Regards,