International Family Law Attorney in South Florida

Forty years of experience in family law

At the Law Offices of Lawrence S. Katz, P.A., we have more than 40 years of experience handling international divorces, paternity actions, relocations, and child abductions. Mr. Katz is a Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, an exclusive association of lawyers recognized by their peers as the most experienced and expert family law specialists in their countries. He is also Chairman of the International Law Committee of the ABA Family Law Section.

Our expertise in an international setting includes:

It is common for a cross-cultural couple to marry, cohabitate, or have children and thereafter live in several different countries during the course of the marriage or relationship. The deterioration of the relationship can present enormous difficulties. If one of them seeks a divorce or disputes paternity, important questions of jurisdiction arise. Depending on which nation's courts handle the divorce or paternity action, the rights of one of the parties can be significantly affected.

Regardless of whether the couple was married, if children are involved, questions of child support, custody, and access can be vastly more complicated. A parent may seek to relocate to another country for employment or because of familial ties. The other parent may oppose the move because of the greater expense and difficulty of exercising visitation rights in a foreign country, or because of fears that in the other parent’s new country of residence, courts will not honor the couple’s custody agreement or decree. At the Law Offices of Lawrence S. Katz, P.A. we have successfully represented parents on both sides of this issue.

A cross-cultural relationship raises the possibility of an international child abduction. While these cases sometimes begin with a parent's wrongful removal or retention of the child away from his or her country of habitual residence, they often begin when a parent receives permission to temporarily remove the child. The international travel then results in the child being wrongfully retained, and the left-behind parent can be faced with the daunting prospect of navigating through the U.S. or foreign legal system to obtain the child's return.

At Lawrence S. Katz, P.A. we place the highest priority on the welfare of children who have been victims of international abductions. Our experience representing clients on both sides of these cases provides us with a deep understanding and insight as to the issues and strategies involved.

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International Family Law Attorney in South Florida

Forty years of experience in family law