Children, Holidays and Passports – what are your rights?

Your much needed holiday in the sun has been booked.  The holiday that you are looking forward to is now almost upon you.  However, you don’t have your child’s passport, you are separated and this is with their other parent.  The worst happens and the other parent decides at the last moment that they are not going to release the passport.  What can you do?

The best way to deal with this is through applying to the Court for a Specific Issue Order.  If the holiday is imminent then the application can be made on an urgent basis and the Court is able to make various orders, not least that the other parent hand over the passport within a given time period, failing which the parent could face both financial penalties, and could also be sent to prison.  Unfortunately, we do often see people using this situation to control their former spouse or partner and it can be very upsetting for them and also for any children who are deprived of a holiday.  We will always do whatever we can at short notice to get the application into Court very quickly.

The Specific Issue Order generally arises as a result of a specific question relating to the child’s welfare when those with parental responsibility cannot agree.  They are therefore made to resolve disputes about various matters for example deciding which school a child will attend, what religion they will follow or whether a child should receive a particular type of treatment in preference to another.

Should you require any advice about this, or any other family law matter, contact our specialist team of family lawyers today on 0800 015 0340 to arrange your free initial half hour appointment at any of our offices in Huddersfield, Halifax, Wakefield, Leeds, Horbury, Pudsey or Morley.