Pittsburgh Family Law Services, P.C. Blog

In today's global world, more and more parents want to obtain a passport for their child so they can visit different countries.  Ordinarily, applying for a passport is a straightforward process.  But it's not so simple when you share custody.  If both parents don't agree to the passport, then additional steps need to be taken.  

First, it's important to distinguish between asking for a passport and asking for permission to travel to a specific country.  The passport allows your child to travel internationally.  But there are plenty of reasons why a parent would be comfortable with your child visiting one country but not another.  So before taking additional steps, it's important to identify whether the other parent's objection is to the passport, or if it's an objection to a specific country.  

If after talking with the other parent though you still don't have consent, then it will be necessary to ask the judge to intervene.  There are multiple mechanisms judges use to resolve issues of passports, but the most common one involves entering an order granting a parent sole legal custody to apply for and obtain a passport.  Each county has its own procedures, but the first step to take in making this request is to present a petition to the judge.  That petition should lay out why you want to obtain a passport, where you intend to travel, and what your efforts have been to resolve the issue outside of court.  Very often, the judge will decide to hold a hearing to decide whether to allow you to obtain a passport. 

Many parents get frustrated when judges schedule hearings instead of making a decision off of their written request.  Ultimately, judges do this because parents typically share legal custody, and they are expected to make major decisions together.  Limiting a parent's ability to make a major decision can impact the relationship the parent has with their child, so whenever a judge may have to make that choice, they need to be sure it really is in the child's best interest.  Because court proceedings always come with built-in delay and passport processing times can also be delayed, it's important that you address the issue as soon as you know that there is a disagreement.  

When it comes to traveling, there are two separate issues of whether you can obtain a passport without the other parent's consent and whether you can go to a specific destination.  If you have a disagreement about international travel, it's important that you speak with an attorney early in the process.  A lawyer will know how to properly present the situation to the judge so that you can minimize the amount of delay and court involvement.