It was nice speaking with you Karina. I understand you speak Russian and are familiar with Russian Family Law. I am will to pay for your legal advice concerning a Russian Family Law matter. We are represented by an attorney in Russia, who is willing to proceed with the case, but we wanted to seek a second opinion before proceeding.

Situation:

My wife and her son emigrated to the United States from Russia and obtained their green cards, after we were married about a year ago. We recently discovered that the Russian father to her son (whom I understand apparently still has 50% paternal rights?) sued my wife in court and won a decision regarding an apartment dispute stemming from their marriage together (now divorced). The judgment was for approximately $XXX US for back-payments for this apartment she had signed on. The Russian father has never paid child support payments and it was my wife’s idea to take him to court to counter-sue, this time for child support. We have gathered the supporting documents for this was suit and they are in transit at this time to Russia.

Question:

Am I correct that the Russian father could have the ability (in my understanding) to disrupt travel to and from Russia for my wife and child, in retaliation to the counter-suit (indicating he does not allow her travel out of Russia)?

What are the potential repercussions of taking these counter-suit measures? I know that in America, the father can (at least if complying with child support) is subject to rights regarding visitation. Does this apply to Russian law as well? In other words, would there be demands regarding visitation rights (or even that she would be required to live with him part of the time)?

We just don’t want to get into a situation where we would be required to significantly alter our lifestyle as a family, as a potential repercussion.