Need help PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cre]

I am a single parent taking my 16 year old daughter on a cruise to the Bahamas. I have made numerous attempts to get written permission from the father to take her on the trip. He will not return any of my calls. Will

it help if I get notarized statements from 2 people that know my situation?

We were never married. I live in TN with my daughter and he lives in GA. We have very little contact with one another. We have never gone to court concerning custody. I cannot afford a attorney. I contacted Juvenille Court and I was told that in TN if the parents were never married the mother has sole custody until the time that the father takes the mother to court for any type custody.

[temple1]

What a shame he is putting such a damper on what should be a fun event for you an your daughter.

 

If the court says it's okay, I would request a notarized statement from the court stating you have full custody of your daughter. I think also at 16 it might be okay even without a statement.

 

Good luck with your plans and I hope other's will soon post what they have done in the past.

[lcguy]

I am a single parent taking my 16 year old daughter on a cruise to the Bahamas. I have made numerous attempts to get written permission from the father to take her on the trip. He will not return any of my calls. Will

it help if I get notarized statements from 2 people that know my situation?

We were never married. I live in TN with my daughter and he lives in GA. We have very little contact with one another. We have never gone to court concerning custody. I cannot afford a attorney. I contacted Juvenille Court and I was told that in TN if the parents were never married the mother has sole custody until the time that the father takes the mother to court for any type custody.

Do you and your daughter have the same last name? If so, you should not have a problem. However, it would be prudent to get the advice of an attorney in TN.

[Cre]

We have dfferent last names.

[BillOh]

We have dfferent last names.

 

Even with the same last names, I'm not sure that last statement was valid. Some people pass things off as fact that they really don't know. I won't pretend to know something I don't, but I've seen and heard of too many people being left behind because they didn't have the documentation. If you happen to be of an ethnic background similar to one of the places you are visiting it could make it even worse. Have you been following the case of the Dad who just got his kid back from Brazil? Your going to a lot of work to set up a vacation, I wouldn't risk it falling apart.

 

But I also wouldn't rely on anything you read here for such an important decision. Call RCI and get the word from them.

[toxicfairy]

I am a single parent taking my 16 year old daughter on a cruise to the Bahamas. I have made numerous attempts to get written permission from the father to take her on the trip. He will not return any of my calls. Will

it help if I get notarized statements from 2 people that know my situation?

We were never married. I live in TN with my daughter and he lives in GA. We have very little contact with one another. We have never gone to court concerning custody. I cannot afford a attorney. I contacted Juvenille Court and I was told that in TN if the parents were never married the mother has sole custody until the time that the father takes the mother to court for any type custody.

 

Does your daughter have a state issued ID? like a drivers lisence?? (I don't know at what age you can drive in TN?) At 16 you can get your own (adult) passport . I just went through this with my 17 yr old daughter. They gave us a hassel because her last name is different than mine and she did not have a state ID. So if she is old enough to drive but does not, than take her to the dmv in your state and just get her a state ID (it's only used for id but not driving. OR if she has her drivers lisence) then she can use it to get her passport by herself. Other wise they are going to give you a bit of a run around BUT you'll still be able to get it they'll just make you jump through a few hoops.

It is because of your different last names they will give you such a hard time. I had to prove how my daughter and I were related ie. I had to show my marraige cert to her dad then 2 devorce papers to show how I got to the last name I am at now. It was a connect the dots of how I went from her last name to my last name to prove we are actually mother and daughter..LOL I wanted to tell them to just swab our mouths and do some dna testing. But we did get the passport. This was just about 3 months ago (I live in NJ). GOOD LUCK and don't let them discourage you.

[Cre]

I have contacted Royal Caribbean several times and each time I am told that the notarized statement is not needed. I was told that I would need

her passport and her birth certificate since our last names are different.

We did not have a problem getting the passport because she is 16 and only 1 parent had to appear in person for her to apply for her passport.

We applied 2 weeks ago so she should be getting her passport soon.

I have just heard some many things about needing a notarized letter from her father. The trip is paid for ( airfare included ). I told her father about the trip prior to booking and he said no problem / he'd provide the letter

I have not been able to reach him since then. I have called over and over and he will not return my calls. Nor those from my daughter. I just want to cover all bases because I do not want to take a chance on being denied to get on the boat. There should be some provisions for this type situation. I have had her all her life and I have to worry about taking her on vacation. This does not seem fair to single parents.

[temple1]

I don't normally do a cut and paste, but in this case I think this will help the OP. Info from the RCCL website:

 

Family Legal Documents

 

Should the last names of the parent and minor child traveling with them differ, the parent is required to present the child's valid passport and visa (if required) and the child's birth certificate (original, a notarized copy or a certified copy). The name of the parent(s) and the child must be linked through legal documentation.

 

Different Surnames (Last Names):

If a woman has several surnames on different documents such as birth certificate and drivers license, then she must bridge the difference with other documents, such as, marriage license and/or divorce papers. The additional bridging documents must be the original or a certified or notarized copy.

 

Adults who are not the parent or Legal Guardian of any minor child traveling with them are required to present the child's valid passport and visa or the child's birth certificate (original, a notarized copy or a certified copy) and an original notarized letter signed by at least one of the child's parents. The notarized letter from the child's parent must authorize the traveling adult to take the child on the specific cruise, must authorize guardian to sign legal documentation/waivers for participation in any activities requiring them (i.e. Rock Climbing, Flowrider, Bungee Trampoline, Inline Skating, or Ice Skating) and must authorize the traveling adult to supervise the child and permit any medical treatment that must be administered to the child. If a non-parent adult is a Legal Guardian, the adult must present a certified certificate of Guardianship with respect to the child.

[rjm1cc]

I would repost and put you problem in the subject line. Some one that knows the answer may skip over you heading.

 

 

Try http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html and email customer support. You would think that the topic would be covered but I could not find it.

[lcguy]

I have contacted Royal Caribbean several times and each time I am told that the notarized statement is not needed. I was told that I would need

her passport and her birth certificate since our last names are different.

We did not have a problem getting the passport because she is 16 and only 1 parent had to appear in person for her to apply for her passport.

 

There should be some provisions for this type situation. I have had her all her life and I have to worry about taking her on vacation. This does not seem fair to single parents.

The passport and birth certificate should work.

 

Tennessee law states that if the mother and father were not married when the child was born, then the child does not have a "legal" father. So, you are correct in stating that you have sole custody.

 

Having gone through a divorce and traveling internationally with my kids, my ex gave me an authorization for travel. I never had to show it since my kids and I have the same last name and had passports, etc.

 

In your case, it's obviously different. As mentioned in my prior post, you really need to contact a lawyer. I understand you mentioned you can not afford an attorney, but I'm sure you could call the local bar association or a family law attorney who may be willing to give you an answer at no cost. There are a lot of moving parts in your scenario.

 

Personally, I don't think you'll have a problem, but better safe than sorry. Hate for you to stress and I hope you and your daughter have a nice cruise.

[sbhdmh]

There has been a lot of discussion about this on the family board. Take a look there and/or post your circumstances. I bet one of the moms (or dads) on that board can give you some good ideas. In the meantime if Juvenile Court can put in writing what they told you about custody, i.e. that you have sole custody, that might help. There might also be a family court facilitator in your community that could help you do the paperwork without an attorney. Maybe even a law school legal clinic could help, especially if it is a simple formality. Good luck!

[chrislaurn]

Most states and counties have a volunteer lawyer program that can refer you to a lawyer to help you out either for free or for only court costs. People on these boards have differing experiences, but if you want to be truly sure that your money is not wasted or (and perhaps more importantly) that your daughter is not terribly disappointed because they will not allow you to board, talk to a lawyer. If TN law is in fact as described, a declaration from a judge that you are the sole custodial parent should be relatively easy to obtain. If that isn't the law in TN, you need to know that as well and a lawyer can help you out.

 

Good luck!

[pmdc5696]

My children are adopted, one choosing to hyphenate her last name with mine and the other prefering to keep her birth name. We were, in 2008 denied boarding in Puerto Rico until my brother could fax down the adoption papers and her birth certificate. Since that time, we have cruised 5 times and have carried the information with us but never been asked to produce it. The last cruise, we took my oldest (now 21), her fiance and my 1 yr old grandson. The father is not the fiance and is noncustodial. When the fact that he was noncustodial was explained, we had no issues. Does your daughter's father's name appear on the birth certificate? If it doesn't, you are in the clear. If it is, explain that he is noncustodial and has, for all intents and purposes, disappeared from your lives. You might want to speak with your county's social services dept about getting on the family court schedule asap to get a judge to sign off. This is not difficult and would not need a lawyer. Good luck!

[sunluva]

My son (age 17 at the time) and I went on a cruise together on the Radiance.

(4 years ago). His father and I were never married, yet he had his last name.

I had his passport in hand and he had his drivers license also... no questions asked. Wow. I never even thought that I could have run into trouble regarding

that.

[matj2000]

I think all those letters of consent and permission slips only really apply to little kids who cannot clearly speak for themselves. I don't think you will have any problem with a 16 year old. It's not like someone is kidnapping them and they don't know whats going on.. We brought my nephews 16 year old friend on a cruise and never had anyone question any sort of relations or ask for a parent letter.