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Watch for these 5 signs that your ex might resort to taking your children out of state or the country and not return them.

Your narcissistic ex is abusing your children emotionally and/or physically.

When narcissists fear that their abusive behaviors may be revealed through hearings or a trial, they may take your children and run.

The abuse can occur in many forms including:

• Direct physical, verbal, and emotional abuse.
• Exposing your children to dating partners or other adults who are abusive or exploitive.
• Neglecting your children’s emotional and physical needs.


Your ex is already attempting to weaponize your children against you.

Narcissists can cleverly manipulate your children by:

• Sharing texts with your children that show arguments between the adults so that they can paint you as a bad person and force the children to take sides.

• Subtly or blatantly eroding your children’s trust in you by making it seem that you are not a safe and reliable person. 

• Constantly criticizing you to the children so that the children begin to think less of you and feel distant with you.

Your ex wants to create a “cooling off period” and take your children to visit relatives or go on a vacation to a different country and state.

This offer can seem innocuous and even caring. 

Yet, narcissists will often use the “cooling off period” to get your children out of the local jurisdiction where you all live and file false allegations with jurisdictions in other states or countries to try to keep your children away from you.

This is why it is important to work with a law firm that has seasoned experience with navigating the legal procedures that vary across jurisdictions in different states and countries.

Your narcissistic ex is already Isolating your child from you and extended family by not adhering to temporary custody agreements.

Your ex may create situations that cause them to not return the children to you for days when that is not the agreement.

Or they may sabotage plans for your children to spend time with grandparents or significant members of an extended family.

Your narcissistic ex is already weaponizing the legal system to disrupt your relationship with your children and prevent you from seeing them.

Narcissists are often very skilled at manipulating and taking up the court’s limited time and resources by filing false allegations of abuse and using other legal tactics so that custody proceedings become astronomically costly for you in terms of:

• Damage to the relationship you have with your children.
• Finances.
• Your own emotional and mental health.
• Time.

What can you do when you spot signs that your ex may be preparing to abduct your children?

You need to work with a seasoned attorney who is experienced with achieving favorable results in cases where narcissistic parents have taken children to another state or country and refused to bring them back.

One of the biggest mistakes parents make is assuming that “My ex would never do that to me or our children.”

So, they hire a law firm that has no experience with complex custody cases and legal procedure across multiple jurisdictions. 

Then, when the narcissistic ex takes the children out of state or the country and refuses to return them, the non-narcissistic parent has limited resources to get their children back.

But that doesn’t have to be you.

When you are exploring who to hire as an attorney, ask what experience they have with getting favorable results in cases where partners or spouses have taken children to other states or countries and refused to bring them back home.

To navigate multiple jurisdictions successfully and achieve favorable rulings, attorneys need to have training and experience with understanding how to work with complex legal procedures that vary from state to state and between different countries.

Last, you also want to ask how aware the attorney is of the deep damage that can occur to children who are taken away to other states or countries without the agreement of the other parent.

It’s not that attorneys need to be psychologists or child development experts, but they must have some understanding of what is at stake when children are taken away by a narcissistic parent so that they are highly motivated to be fierce advocates and leave no legal stone unturned to fight for your children’s rights.

At Keesha Montoya law firm, we believe that keeping children safe and intact is ultimately important.  We know what is at stake.

We have vast experience with custody cases where navigating multiple jurisdictions and complex, varying legal procedures is critical to safeguarding the rights of children.

Schedule your free consultation today and let us help you create a legal fortress around your children.