Saturday, October 31, 2009

If your ex lives in another country and child support was not set before they left?

can it be enforced while he is still overseas? Would he be forced to come back to the US for court dates?
Answers:
If your case was filed and served on him in a valid manner, then an order can be entered by the court. Some countries participate in the UIFSA (uniform interstate family support act). Under UIFSA any state (or foreign country) will accept the initiating state's order, register it in their own court and enforce it.
You can't force your ex to come back for court. If he is living in a country that does not participate, then there is no enforcement. You can have your local child support enforcement agency take up the enforcement once the order is established. Then if his past due support gets to $2500.00 or more, his passport can not be renewed until the balance is paid down below that level.
One more thing. If he is in the military, it is sometimes difficult to get a default judgment. A court may grant an order but leave it open for retro modification when he comes back from active duty. If you already have an order that was entered before he went active, then you can issue a income withholding order through the court to the DFAS (the gov agency that pays the military personnel).
Sadly if he is in another country there really is nothing you can do until he steps back on US soil. What a shame this is not fair to the kiddos. Do you question if he is the father?

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