... in response to Question about custody!, posted by Dmitry on May 20, 2002Dmitry,
I am not sure how this translates to foreign rights. I can only tell you how it works in America...
When you divorce in America, and there are children, there are essentially three levels of your "rights" with the child.
The one that is most common is "Joint Custody." This means that both parents are considered equal with regards to choosing a child's education, making medical decisions about the child, deciding the child's religion, etc. However, one of the two parents will have "Managerial Rights." This means that they get to determine the most important thing: where the child lives. (Called establihing domicile.) The parent that does not have domicile, gets "visitation" rights to see their child, but the court considers that the child lives with the parent with domicile. (The parent who does not have domicile will also, typically, pay child support to the one who does.) The courts will try to make sure that parent's with joint custody have equal time with a child wherever possible.
The second level is what this woman is asking for. Sometimes, a parent asks for "Sole Custody". This is another level of control. It means that they do not have to consult with the parent about any of the major decisions in their child's life. And, of course, they determine the child's domicile as well. It usually will also limit the other parent's rights to visitation.
The last level of custody is when one parent's rights are "Terminated". This is very extreme and almost never happens. Basically, if a parent's rights are terminated, they are no longer legally considered to be a parent at all. This usually only happens in a case of child abuse. Or, a parent will sometimes willingly relinquish their parental rights. Before someone else could adopt a child, the "birth" parent's rights must be terminated, for instance. This is the most common reason for a parent's rights to be terminated.
Now... this is all American law. I doubt it has much applicability in Ukraine.
If he already signed documents to give her the right to bring the child to America, he has already conceded the first level: She has right to domicile. The only reason I can think that she now wants sole custody is that she wants to have the right to handle any medical emergency that comes up without having to contact him first.
Unless he is planning on coming to America himself, I can't see how he would be hurt by signing this document. (Though, I must state, I am not a lawyer...)
If he were in America, there may be child support issues, but these issues won't matter if he is in Ukraine.
As long as he is not signing a "Parental Termination" form, he still has rights to visit the child.
FWIW
