When you or someone close to you is involved in a legal dispute that involves family or familiar relationships, it is only natural that you have many concerns and questions regarding what to expect. Family law is complex, and many cases seem to occur when we least expect it. Even if you and those closest to you have been experiencing relationship problems, the initiation of divorce or custody proceedings can still come as a shock.
It can be difficult to determine what direction your family legal matter will take. It is important to know where to turn if things get complicated and you are unsure of what to expect from your former partner or others to whom you were previously close. Situations that involve children are always sensitive, especially when parents are afraid that their former partner will restrict their access to a mutual child.

Protecting Children
Children of all ages can become a pawn or weapon in a dispute with an angry ex-spouse or romantic partner. After separating from a partner, many parents fear that the other parent will interfere with the relationship between the noncustodial parent and his or her child. While these fears may be unfounded, it is true that parental alienation can occur, permanently affecting your relationship with your children. Worse, your former partner may attempt to abduct your child.
Each year thousands of children are abducted, with a large number of kidnappings involving one of the child’s parents. Some of these children are taken out of Italy by one parent in the hopes of avoiding being forced to comply with the ruling of an Italian family court. In some contested custody cases, parents went as far as contracting companies that specialized in helping one parent abduct a child from a custodial parent during a difficult divorce or legal separation.