Case Update (7 July 2025): Goderth v. Yandall-Goderth; children now settled in Illinois

A Father in Germany seeks the return of his two children to Germany from Illinois using the Hague Abduction Convention. There are some salient deadlines in this case that give clarity to the legal arguments. The parties married in Germany in 2014, and had two children, one in 2015 and the second in 2016. The two children resided in Germany in the same family home from birth until August 2023. In May 2022, the parties separated, with the Father moving to a basement apartment in the family home. The couple seemingly collaborated well and coordinated so that the parents shared time with their children. On April 27, 2023, the Father filed for divorce in Germany. Around this time, the couple agreed that Mother and children would visit family from August 22, 2023 to September 10, 2023 in Illinois. About one month prior to the trip, the couple had a conversation where they discussed moving to the USA. At the end of that conversation, they came away with different impressions. The Mother believed they were in agreement to try a relocation for a year in the USA, whereas the Father believed there was no agreement. The Mother testified about all of their packing, a going-away party, and other planning for what she believed to be a one-year relocation. The Father testified that he, being excluded from the main part of the house, didn’t really see all of this planning activity, and no longer engaged with the Mother on social media. On August 22, 2023, Mother and children relocated to Illinois. She promptly enrolled them in school. Between their arrival and their “return date” of September 10, 2023, the parents did not communicate much. The court made particular note of the fact that there were no text messages between Mother and Father on WhatsApp between midday September 3 and September 10. The court said that, for prior trips, the Father had messaged the Mother wishing her a good flight, asking if they needed a ride from the airport, etc. Therefore, the court found that the “lack of communication … is in direct contrast to [the Father’s] conduct in July 2023 when the children traveled out of the country…”. The court found this very interesting, and believed it indicated the Father’s knowledge that the children were remaining in Illinois.

On September 28, 2023, approximately one month and a few days after the children had left for Illinois, the Father initiated another German court case related to the children. There was a hearing in October 2023, and the Mother did not appear, but had counsel present in her stead. On January 11, 2024, the German court found the Mother had retained the children in the USA without the Father’s consent, and temporarily transferred the right to determine the children’s place of abode to the Father. In June 2024, the Father’s attorney filed an application with the Central Authority to request the children’s return using the Abduction Convention. On August 23, 2024, almost one year to the day of the children’s departure flight, the Father filed a request in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois, to register and enforce the German court judgment. The Father then filed his petition to return the children to Germany through the Hague Abduction Convention on September 9, 2024. He argued that the date the Mother retained the children in Illinois was September 10, 2023, making his petition timely filed within 1 year.

This is probably a good place to stop based just on the facts. It is important to note that the custody proceedings (in Germany, and separately the enforcement proceedings in Illinois) and the Hague Abduction Convention proceeding are entirely distinct. This was clarified in a November 2024 memorandum by the Uniform Law Commission. While this district court opinion was one under the Hague Abduction Convention, there is clearly a simultaneous state court proceeding to register and enforce a foreign custody order, which should not rely on the outcome in this Hague Abduction Convention case. It should be based exclusively on Illinois’ enactment of the UCCJEA, and whether the foreign custody proceeding was commenced under factual circumstances in substantial conformity with the UCCJEA, and whether the other pre-requisites were met to warrant registering that order, and enforcing it. When this federal court opinion states, on page 1, that it is tasked with determining whether the children’s custody will be decided in Germany or in the USA, this is imprecise. The Hague Abduction Convention does NOT determine custody jurisdiction. There is a separate Convention - the Hague Child Protection Convention - that does, but has not been ratified by the USA.

In this Hague Abduction Convention case, the first inquiry the Court made was whether the Father’s assertion that September 10, 2023 was the date of wrongful retention was viable. The court concluded it was not. The court, even reviewing the various facts taken in a light supportive of the Father’s testimony, the Court concluded that the latest the retention occurred was August 30, 2023, which was the date the Father knew the children had been enrolled in school in Illinois, which should have been a clear indicator they were not returning. The court’s setting the date of retention on August 30th means that the Mother could argue that the children were now settled in Illinois. There have been two recent “now settled” cases where the Courts of Appeals reversed the district courts’ findings, and a bit of confusion on the standard on appeal. (See Brito Guevara v. Castro and da Silva v. da Silva). The district court here noted that the court may consider any relevant factor in determining whether the children are settled, and courts “generally consider” certain factors. The court then explained why the children’s acclimitization in Illinois supports a finding that they are now settled.

The Father’s petition to return the children using the Hague Abduction Convention was denied.