In a recent case, two parents, grandparents and two small children found themselves in the middle of the news as their custody issues became an international affair. The recent case involved the child custody of two small children who were placed in the care of their maternal grandparents. Pennsylvania families who are in the midst of a child custody case may want to make note of the incident and how authorities and family members have handled it.
The parents lost custody and the boys, ages 2 and 4, were placed with the grandparents. The father came to the home where the boys lived, tied up the grandmother and took the children from her home. He and his wife, the children’s mother, took the children and fled to Cuba together. Authorities from both the United States and Cuba worked together to safely return the entire family back to the U.S.
The parents face a number of charges and are currently in jail. The children were taken from the parents a year ago amid a bizarre incident and were given to the grandparents. The children were said to be doing well after the incident and the grandparents have asked for privacy for the entire family.
It can be very convoluted when parents lose child custody to another family member. However, Pennsylvania family court officials work diligently to place children according to their best interests. When parents lose child custody and grandparents or family members gain custody, being able to work together and abide by court orders can benefit all parties involved. Whenever one party does not want to abide by those orders or wishes to have child custody revisited, working through the courts rather than taking action on their own may help families avoid further conflict and any criminal charges or law enforcement involvement.
Source: absnews.go.com, “Parents in Cuba Kidnap Case Isolated From Jail Population,” Alyssa Newcomb, April 9, 2013
