Children are often the most important people in their parents' lives. However, if those parents are not married, custody issues could put a strain on everyone involved. If the parents do not have a formal custody agreement, the likelihood of complications may be high, and in some instances, the situations could escalate to a point where the authorities become involved.
New York residents may be interested in such a case that recently took place in another state. Reports indicated that a 17-month-old boy was kidnapped by his uncle during a custody dispute between the boy's parents. The parents do not live together and apparently do not have a legal custody arrangement in place. It was unclear what exactly motivated the uncle to take such action.
Authorities located the uncle as well as the child and his mother the morning after the kidnapping. Both the uncle and mother were taken into custody. Police noted that a lack of custody agreement made their situation more difficult due to not having a clear idea of who should have custody of the child. It was not detailed who was watching the child at the time of the kidnapping.
Because incidents such as this one are not altogether uncommon, having a formal child custody agreement may prove beneficial for New York parents. With the details of the agreement on official record, terms can be more easily enforced. If concerned parents have not yet made agreements of their own, they may wish to speak with experienced attorneys in order to get their custody affairs in order.
Source: kapptv.com, "Custody battle leads to kidnapping a 17-month-old boy", Jade Redinger, Feb. 28, 2017
