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Dad Won Return of Son from Out of State
By Laura Reichel
The father of an eight-year-old boy was in the middle of a tough divorce when his son was reported to have been taken away from him.
Terrified of losing his son forever, dad came to Attorney Jeffery M. Leving for help bringing his little boy back home. Dad feared he would never see his son ever again.
The Leving team fought for them and won, reuniting dad and his son and ensuring the child would not be taken out-of-state ever again.
Attorney Jeffery M. Leving will talk about this court victory during a special Fourth of July broadcast on his weekly radio show, the Dads’ Rights Legal Hour, 9–10 a.m. CDT Saturday, July 4th on Power 92.3 FM.
The show will be available for download on the Dads’ Rights Legal Hour Spotify page at dadsrights.com. Tune in and share this victory by leaving a Google review in support of justice, equal protection and due process everywhere.
Dad and his wife continued to live together during the divorce proceedings, along with their son, and they agreed informally to joint custody and joint decision making but things fell apart.
The mother is a corporate executive whose business frequently took her far from home, often to California. It was reported that on multiple occasions the mother took the boy with her on her trips and then stayed away, sometimes for weeks at a time before it was alleged she took dad’s son from him.
Dad finally had enough and wanted to put a stop to his pain. Dad retained the Leving litigation team and they fiercely litigated the case to victory.
The Leving team appeared in court and told the judge what was happening. They argued that it was bad for the boy and bad for dad. It was reported that the mother acknowledged to the court that she took the child out-of-state at the time of this important court appearance.
Leving won. The judge entered an order requiring the mother to return the child to Illinois, and prohibiting her from removing the boy from Illinois again without dad’s consent. A violation of this court order could result in incarceration for the mother.
This was an important court victory modified for publication. Through their efforts the Leving team ensured that the child would be returned to Illinois and they safeguarded dad’s right to be a parent to his child without interference. This father will now be guiding his boy to becoming a young man.
Court victories like this are not uncommon for the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. Many fathers seek help after their children are taken across state lines or even out of the country without authorization. It is important to understand that, generally speaking, a parent with residential custody cannot remove a child from Illinois to another state or country without the other parent’s consent or a court order.
Have a Happy Fourth of July as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence and the enduring values of freedom, family, and justice.
Matrimonial Attorney Jeffery M. Leving is the recipient of the U.S. Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from the President of the United States in recognition of his 7,500 hours of service to this great nation. Leving co-authored the foundational Illinois joint custody law and has dedicated his career to safeguarding children and reuniting them with their fathers.
To learn more about Leving law and fatherhood, visit dadsrights.com
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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