Keeping Families Safe

SMRLS represented a client in seeking a Declaratory Judgment and an Emergency Restraining Order after the opposing party unlawfully removed the joint minor child from Minnesota and withheld the child for six weeks. Through expedited filings and hearings, SMRLS successfully obtained a court order granting the client sole custody under Minnesota statute, enabling the client to retrieve the child and return safely to Minnesota.

In the months that followed, the opposing party continued to harass the client, repeatedly threatening to travel to Minnesota and take the child. SMRLS worked closely with the client on safety planning and ongoing risk assessment. Given the opposing party’s escalating behavior—particularly when child support was mentioned—SMRLS also assisted the client in securing a Good Cause Waiver from child support requirements to protect the client’s safety and stability.

SMRLS played a crucial role in resolving a dangerous situation after the opposing party took the child out of Minnesota and refused to return them. With SMRLS’s quick action, the court stepped in right away and granted the client sole custody, allowing the child to be safely brought back home.

Even after the child returned, the opposing party continued to harass and threaten the client. SMRLS supported the client through these ongoing safety concerns by creating a safety plan, helping the client respond to escalating behavior, and securing a Good Cause waiver so the client would not be put at further risk through child support enforcement.

By combining fast legal action with practical safety support, SMRLS helped the client regain stability, reduced the ongoing danger, and protected both the client and child in the long term.