Parental Consent Form ~ Difficult ex-spouse

[cruisinthemed]

I've taken a letter twice when taking my son on cruises. I keep the letter in my folder with cruise documents. Both times I was told I didn't need to show it at check in, but someone may want to see it when we debark...they never have. My son, now 15 has been asked his birthdate & that's it.

[alaata]

I have question: my daughter never seen her father do I still need a consent form for her. Shes 13.

 

new to cruising. . first cruise March-16-2014... second August-23-2014

[figdu]

You failed to point out that getting off the cruise ship for the day is not debarking. Debarking is what is done at the end of the cruise and no cruise line that I know of debarks in Mexico, although passengers can choose to debark there if they wish.

 

Has nothing to do with getting off the disembarking. Has to do with entering the country of Mexico. It is their rule not US. Whether it is enforced remains to be seen but better safe than sorry. This is why most cruise line reference the need.

[CDNJehn]

I have a question; If you have a passport for your child and are not showing the birth certificate, how would Carnival know whether or not the consent form you have is signed by the child's actually father?

 

Very true...unless they're going to go to the extent of calling the other parent and asking if they signed the paper.

 

I got it because I didn't want to get all the way to the ship and be denied boarding. It was work, but definitely eased my mind.

 

Good luck!

[tamirpr]

Little advice for how I got my ex to sign a letter a few years ago. He's difficult too, so I understand. How dare I spend "my" money on a cruise with "his" child support. :rolleyes: Mmkay. Anyway, I didn't tell him I needed a letter so the girls could cruise. I told him I needed a letter so if something happened and we were in a foreign country, I needed his permission to get them treatment. He completely understood that and was willing to sign. And it's true. You don't need his permission to take a vacation, but you do need his permission when you're dealing with foreign countries.

 

The letter I typed up said something along the lines of he knew I was taking the girls on a cruise of such and such a date and that I had his permission to take care of them as I saw fit during those days out of the country.

 

Not that it matters, but my last name is different from the girls. I came armed with my letter, divorce papers, marriage certificates, etc. I've never been asked for any of it.

[n6uqqq]

I don't think Carnival will deny boarding. They aren't immigration and don't want to rock the boat. I have taken my two daughters on Cruises to Mexico 4 times and never been asked by Carnival or Mexican authorities for any consent letter. To get off in Mexico you just put your sail and sign card in the machine that goes " doot " and you are merrily on your way to the land of Mexico to be hounded by people peddling goods. Also returning to Long Beach we have never been questioned whatsoever by customs. I have not read on CC of anyone being denied boarding for not having a parental consent form.

[Almost Packed]

I have said this a hundred times on here...they can ask for it. Chances are they won't...but....are you a gambler?

 

My friend was denied boarding (actually just her son) because she did NOT have a notarized consent from her ex husband. Christopher was about 8 or 10 at the time. Some people even basically called me a liar here on the boards because they could not believe it...but it's true. At the pier, she and her son were denied. Thankfully she has a great relationship with her ex...and was able to phone him from Miami, and they accepted a faxed version.

 

I too have difficulties with the ex (putting it extremely mildly). Sadly, it was not worth the battle for us. I just waited until my kids were 18 to take them to travel outside of the U.S. They've now been to several different countries. :D

[snorkelgirlca]

Most of the time nobody asks but technically the Federal parental kidnapping law is the source of the "consent to travel out of state/country rules". Yes I practice family law in CA.

 

The problems arise on that off chance that an over zealous customs agent could ask for it. Each state gets to set up their own definitions of what is legal and,physical custody which is why the FEDS came up with this concept of the consent to travel letter.

 

 

Every time I had to go see a judge for a client cause some knucklehead mom or dad refused to sign the notarized form, maybe six times in 25 years, the,judge got so angry at the other parent that they granted it on the spot and sanctioned the other parent for being a pain. if you have purchased a ticket,made a good faith attempt to get the other parent to sign the consent letter, I never saw a judge say no.

 

So if the fool refuses to sign, then go see a judge in the same court that granted the custody order. You most likely do not need legal representation for this type of proceeding

 

Good luck

[backnine05]

I just got off the phone with carnival because I am in a similar situation with my wife and "step" daughter. The rep said no form is needed. Bring the child's birth certificate to prove that the child is traveling with one of his/her parents. The rep said a notarized form is "recommended" just in case an ex with pitch a fit and claim abduction or something ridiculous. Other than that, nothing special needed.

[n6uqqq]

I have never seen a customs agent while boarding a ship, only after the cruise is over. Just went through Carnival's security where they do the shakedown for alcohol and then right to the Carnival rep to board the ship. They do check for proper ID passport/ birth certificate etc.

[Annhawthorne]

Do single parents have trouble( no other parent) have trouble taking children. My daughter is taking her son with us on a cruise next year. he will be 9 .

[Kristi Williamson]

Many years ago, my ex was being a pain (I think time tends to dampen some of that...at least I hope it does for you guys like it finally did for mine) and refused to sign. I didn't have the money to take him back to court, nor the inclination. I forged his name and my best friend is a notary. She signed it (stamped it) and we went. They've never asked for it, including the time we forged it. They've never even asked why his last name is different.

 

I'm NOT advocating this, but when all else fails and ex's can't be reasoned with and want to play power games, do what you have to do. He never even knew we were gone... :rolleyes:

[torcruise]

That's the reason the letter needs to be notarized.

 

ok, so you have to show the birth certificate to the notary? I was assuming the notary would just check the ID of the person signing

[n6uqqq]

ok, so you have to show the birth certificate to the notary? I was assuming the notary would just check the ID of the person signing

 

All a notary does is validate that the person who is signing a document is actually the person. Example: that John Doe is John Doe. Notaries do not vouch for the content of the document whatsoever. The notary won't even know if the person signing a consent letter is truly the parent of the child. The notary will not be asking for the child's birth certificate. only the ID of the person signing it.

[Almost Packed]

Again, Carnival may not require it...but the govt. may!

[SportsMomof4]

I also have a very difficult ex-spouse & became concerned when I started reading these posts before our last cruise. I contacted him asking him for a notarized consent & he flat out refused. We packed our stuff & off we went & not once were we ever questioned. Granted my twins were older (14 at the time). We also cruised with them when they were 8 before I knew I needed consent & again, no questions ever asked. Good luck!

[lovebelle]

Do single parents have trouble( no other parent) have trouble taking children. My daughter is taking her son with us on a cruise next year. he will be 9 .

 

I guess I will find out next week. Single parent traveling with my 1yr old and unfortunately no way to get a signed and notorized letter from her father.

[Jsme]

I do suggest your DD do her best to get the consent form just in case of any difficulties occur.

 

With that said 2 years ago my step children went with their mother on a cruise. DH never gave or signed a consent form. He was never asked to either. He was never told by ex she was taking them on a cruise, we found out thru my DH's family when his sister mentioned it to him. Needless to say he was livid. He came close to calling Carnival and telling them that he has never nor would ever give his ex permission to take them out of the country. His emotions over the situation was more over the fact he was not asked or told about the cruise. I was lucky I was able to talk him out of calling Carnival. He can be very stubborn but thank goodness he listened to me. Regardless of what the ex did I could not see hurting the kids like that.

 

I only suggest this because of how my DH would have acted if I had not been able to talk him out of it.

[meanjean80]

All a notary does is validate that the person who is signing a document is actually the person. Example: that John Doe is John Doe. Notaries do not vouch for the content of the document whatsoever. The notary won't even know if the person signing a consent letter is truly the parent of the child. The notary will not be asking for the child's birth certificate. only the ID of the person signing it.

 

I have this argument with people at work all the time who think getting an invoice notarized makes it more official. All the notary is saying is that the person who is signing the document REALLY IS that person. If Mary Smith signts the invoice as valid, then MARY is the one on the hook for saying the data is accurate...the notary is just indicating that Mary is really Mary.

 

If a Notary is found to have falsely verified a signature, they could at the very least lose their license...I would imagine be liable for prosecution depending on the nature of what they falsified.

[Princess Ariel]

Do single parents have trouble( no other parent) have trouble taking children. My daughter is taking her son with us on a cruise next year. he will be 9 .

 

Depends on if there is a father listed on the birth certificate. If there is then technically she would need that persons permission weather they are in touch with that person or not or a custody order showing that they have sole custody of the child.

Although rarely asked for as others have pointed out it could be.

[EggsyH]

On our first cruise I told my ex about all our plans and she gives me the we'll see. Several weeks went by and she would not sign it. I gave her the form all filled out which included the countries we would be visiting and the flight details. She intended to hold onto this until the last minute. My new wife suggested we just file for a court order which turns out was the best $30 filing fee I ever spent. When we went before the judge he was pissed at her for not just signing the paper. She has physical custody. He said I have as much right to take our kid's on vacation as she did. He granted the order which meant I no longer needed the notarized consent form. You might think it ended there, but no. The day I picked the kid's up her says she wants the $25 fee the notary charged her to witness and stamp the form. I told her she wasted her money because I no longer needed her permission, I had a court order allowing me to leave the country will them. We left her yelling at me good luck getting on the ship because she was going to call the State Department and have me arrested for leaving the country without her consent. She just didn't get it but I was left to explain to my 14yr and 13yr old sons and 10yr old daughter that we had nothing to worry about and I was not going to be arrested at he dock. They all still talk about the wonderful cruise we all had and never once brought up the pre-cruise drama. If you have time, get the court order. It is not that hard to do.

[Annhawthorne]

Thanks will research it further. There is no dad.wi