Custody Transfer - Possible?

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In a case where a foreign man divorces a Japanese woman, and she will ultimately take custody, but is not able at the moment of divorce, is it possible for the man to take custody temporarily, then hand it over later?

What about paperwork? Would it be best to list the man as the guardian on the divorce forms, and transfer custody later? Are forms for this sort of situation available? Or, is it better to just go ahead and list the final guardian (woman) on the forms, have the ex-husband take care temporarily yet unofficially, then just hand over the children when she's able?
Posted By:
Todd
7/29/2006
Order:
Steven R. Leduc (7 posts)
7/29/2006 4:59:22 PM
re: Custody Transfer - Possible?   profile
Dear Todd,

I'm not sure if you're residing in Japan or not, but if you are in Japan, whomever has the children basically has the custody although it's supposed to be 50/50 until divorce.

If you're only interested in taking care of your child(ren) until your wife gets back on her feet(and provided her parents and/or immediate family have no objections), and handing the child(ren) over to her when the time comes, as long as you are both in agreement, I see no problem at all. And if you're both very happy and that you'll be able to meet with your child(ren) in the future without any problems, well great!!! There's always a chance of a great case scenario.

Regarding paperwork, as long as you're both in agreement, I see no problems.

Good luck with your on going problem.

Steven R. Leduc

P.S. If something should ever go wrong in the future, I recommend you check out another very informative website that I'll list below.

crnjapan.com

Also, look below and you'll find "FRIJ recommends you also visit CRN Japan, who..."(need I say more)
crnjapan (26 posts)
11/4/2006 2:45:14 PM
re: Custody Transfer - Possible?   profile
If you are content to give her the ability to cut off all future access to your child at any time, just sign custody over now. (But to me, unless your circumstances and desire to spend time with your children in the future are very unusual, that would be foolish.) If not, then take custody yourself, and never sign it over. (Even this wont help if she abducts the child from you though.) That said, if she agrees to take custody and you agree to give it to her, you should be able to get a court to do it anytime. Other options are to take SHINKEN and not KANGOUKEN type of custody. Or take custody and break your child off onto its own koseki. See these pages for more info.

http://www.crnjapan.com/custody/en/shinkenkangoken.html

http://www.crnjapan.com/references/en/koseki.html

Hope this helps.


FRIJ recommends you also visit crn japan, who are fighting international abduction to Japan and working to assure children in Japan of meaningful contact with both parents regardless of marital status