Custody (Where Would He Stand)

[jonah hart]

Not sure if this is the right place to this question.
My brother's ex girlfriend as asked him to take their 3 year old daughter full time (she wants to move abroad with her new partner)
My brother is thrilled to have his daughter full time and is putting a plan into action to decrease his hours at work.
My worry is, where does he stand? She doesn't want to do it officially through solicitors (she'll sign a note to say he can have their daughter)
Yes she is an absolute joke.
Any advice would be grateful x

[barry1010]

Is he named on the child’s birth certificate?

[calmck]

There really should be a legal agreement with the mother relinquishing her parental rights and the father being named as the legal guardian. If father and daughter have different surnames there could be problems with passport and travel and consent for medical treatment etc. What happens if things go wrong with the new boyfriend and she wants the daughter back. Please advise him to consult a family specialist lawyer as soon as possible. I say this because of problems my daughter has with her ex. New judge will probably offer more expert advice later

[jonah hart]

Thankyou.
He's always done everything his ex as told him to, always scared to rock the boat knowing full well what she's like and could take his daughter away at anytime (she's polish and all her family live in Poland) so he's pampered to her every whim and she's took full advantage of it.
His daughter does have his surname and he is on her birth certificate.
I absolutely agree he needs to see a lawyer and get full custody, but he's afraid of which way she could turn.
I will talk and advice him.
Thankyou x

[calmck]

Does the child have a passport and is it a UK one.

[Mozz71]

There should definitely be some kind of legal backing that he has custody, otherwise he risks his ex doing a Kramer vs Kramer with him, swanning in and reclaiming custody of the child once she's settled abroad.

[jonah hart]

I know she as a passport calmck, she was born here so im guessing it's a uk one.

[barry1010]

This will help https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-cpra1-parental-responsibility-agreement

[jonah hart]

Thankyou Barry, very helpful x

[Canary42]

Nothing other than a signed note and verbal assurance sound very high risk to me. He does really need a Court backing.