Worried that wife will want to stay in Canada

My wife and I are moving to Toronto next summer so I can oversee a project for my company. We have agreed to go for two years, then come back to Massachusetts. I am worried because I am only willing to go for two years. My wife’s twin brother lives in Toronto and has a 3-year-old son, just like us. I am worried she will not want to come back. Our marriage is good now, but it hasn’t always been so. My family (four sisters, parents and many nieces and nephews) live here in Massachusetts. My wife also grew up here, but her parents passed away and her brother moved to Toronto. My nephew is going to rent our house while we are away so we don’t have to sell. What, if anything, can I do to make sure our temporary relocation really is only temporary? Consider putting together a written agreement with your wife for temporary relocation so you are each entirely clear on the terms of the move and the agreed upon return date. If you think that would set a bad tone, send her an email telling her that to maintain your Massachusetts domicile, you are going to do certain things and ask her if she can think of anything else you left out. The things you need to continue doing are filing tax returns using your current address, keeping your driver’s license in Massachusetts, keeping your voter registration in Massachusetts and voting by absentee ballot for each election you miss — both local and nation- al. Come back to Massachusetts to see your doctor annually, maintain your membership in your place of worship, continue to send donations or dues while you are gone, and have a written lease with your nephew that is clear when you will return and need your house back. It would also be helpful to have an employment contract specifically stating the two-year duration of the project in Toronto. You cannot guarantee that your wife will come back as planned. Massachusetts will give up jurisdiction over your son once he is out of the commonwealth for six months. So, regardless of where your domicile is, your residence is what the court will look at when determining whether she has the right to file for divorce and stay in Toronto. Of course, she would first have to leap the immigration hurdle if she wanted to stay, but, assuming she could do that, you could try taking your son and returning to Massachusetts. If she filed an international kidnapping case, your defense would be that Massachusetts continues to be your son’s habitual residence and the email and your employment agreement would serve as your acquiescence to Toronto for temporary relocation only. If you are really worried, the easiest way to avoid this fight is to stay put and, if necessary, find another local job. Wendy O. Hickey has since 1994 been involved in and since 2003 been a trial lawyer who concentrates her practice on national and international family law. Any legal advice in this column is general in nature, and does not establish a lawyer-client relationship. Send questions to dearwendy@ bostonherald.com.