Kelly Rutherford’s children are currently living in France with her ex, Daniel Giersch. The German man is unable to renter the United States. Because of that fact, Rutherford has lost a battle to bring her children, who are 5 years old and 8 years old, back to the U.S.
A ruling by a judge in 2012 noted that the children should live with their father; however, the adults have shared custody of the children. The legal battle over the children and having to travel across the world to see them has led to Rutherford filing for bankruptcy.
Rutherford argued that her children are U.S. citizens and have rights. In response to that, the judge ruled that the children haven’t been deported and can retain their citizenship. It will be up to the children to decide where to live when they reach the age of majority, noted the judge. That case was dismissed.
It was ordered that Giersch continue to apply for a visa that would allow him to travel to the U.S. ABC News confirmed via the State Department that Giersch hasn’t done that.
This case is one that shows the difficulty of international custody cases. The court in this case says that it is improper for the U.S. to assume jurisdiction over the case. Meanwhile, Rutherford is forced to live with the fact that her children are overseas and that she has to go weeks on end without seeing them or taking care of them. All of this is seemingly because the children’s father is unable to legally come to the U.S.
Source: New York Daily News, “Kelly Rutherford speaks out after court denies her right to bring her children back to U.S.,” Zayda Rivera, April. 14, 2015
