Wording of custody agreement

[CdnMN 0]

Iam just starting the process of bringing my 12 yr old som from Ontario to the US.

My ex spouse is allowing this to happen so we aren't in the middle of some custody battle, however, we have a question on the wording of a custody agreement.

Does the custody agreement need to state that I have sole custody?

Can it state we have joint custody but the the child may choose which parent to live with upon reaching age 12. In this case my ex would supply a notarized letter stating that she has no objection to him moving.

I called DOS and they told me it depended on Canadian law. Not sure how that can be the case.

I'm concerned that an immigration officer may get sticky depending on the wording of the agreement.

Anybody have any experiance with this one?

Thanks

[Sprailenes 47]

You can have joint or sole, I believe. A parent doesn't have to give up their custody rights if their children are moving out of the country. What matters is that you have a letter signed from the father of your children.

You can show up to Montreal with a custody agreement and that's not going to mean much even if you have sole custody. You need the letter of permission.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Agree with Sprailenes - you need a note from the ex spouse indicating their awareness and approval of the situation. I have sole custody and an ex who hasn't been around since my daughter was 3, in my case I went back to court to prove that we had not seen or heard from him since the original custody order was put in place back when my daughter was 5 (then 15) and therefore he had no involvement or preference. montreal was satisfied with that in my case.

[Sprailenes 47]

Yep had another member here (BH45 I think) also who had sole custody of her daughter and when she got to Montreal her VISA was put on hold because she didn't have the letter of permission from the dad.