Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
#16
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Sunshine Coast
Posts: 77
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
I hope so too Vic's i really do.
Hiya Niki
The court order doesn't mention anything about the need to tell the other party where you live or what you're doing or any of that kind of stuff, only the agreement between the two parties in terms of maintenance for the child and that states that in times of unemployment, hubby doesn't need to pay and the ex can't enforce the order.(but she tried cause she sent the bailiffs round to get the "back" money).
It also goes into how each party has agreed that he gets this and she gets that and they both agree not to go after each other for anything else in the future, like his pension, stuff like that. I think it was called a "clean break" divorce. From what i gather it means that neither party can claim off the other any time in the future, the only thing that is variable is the maintenance agreement for the child.
From what i seen, she done pretty well by getting the house from my hubby plus a lump sum which was nearly 30k back then. Not bad considering she never worked up until they got divorced. Pretty good earner in my mind.
I think hubby would qualify for legal aid but when he spoke to the lawyer with the last nightmare, the lawyer said that it could take a lot longer to get it sorted out because it was legal aid and we just don't have that kind of time to wait for the wheels of justice to turn over. and to be honest we just can't carry on paying a lawyer anymore. Everything dealing with his ex has been through lawyers cause his ex won't communicate adultly.
The court order hubbys got is a weird one cause it states how much he has to pay which was based on his salary, but it also says that if his ex goes to the CSA (she never has... yet) and they say hubby should pay less, then he still has to make up the difference to what the court awarded. So doesn't matter what the CSA thinks should be paid. Hubby loses out. If CSA say hubby should pay more than the court order, then he has to pay the CSA ruling, but if CSA says it should be less, then he still has to make up the difference, so it matches the court order.
The bailiff thing that hubby got said if he didn't pay the "back" money, they could stop his accounts (joint), repo his personal effects, stop him selling his personal effects (to get money after the accounts were stopped) and stop him selling the house and/or transferring the house to release funds.
To me that meant then that we couldn't get any money for things like food or clothing and the bills which would normally be paid, like mortgage would go into default because the accounts had been stopped. Nice eh?
This is how i'm scared but also angry. Fine, go after my hubby if you want but DONT, DONT do something which affects me or my children! :curse:
She's the lowest of the low if she thinks it's okay to deprive a child of basic necessities, a child that she doesn't even know and me for that matter.
HOW DARE SHE! :curse:
I'm ranting now and getting upset. I said i wouldn't air my dirty laundry in a public place, but here i am doing it. Sorry.
All i came on here for was to see if anyone could give a definitive answer whether my dreams for our future could happen or be jeapordised.
Thanks everyone for your kind words.
Hiya Niki
The court order doesn't mention anything about the need to tell the other party where you live or what you're doing or any of that kind of stuff, only the agreement between the two parties in terms of maintenance for the child and that states that in times of unemployment, hubby doesn't need to pay and the ex can't enforce the order.(but she tried cause she sent the bailiffs round to get the "back" money).
It also goes into how each party has agreed that he gets this and she gets that and they both agree not to go after each other for anything else in the future, like his pension, stuff like that. I think it was called a "clean break" divorce. From what i gather it means that neither party can claim off the other any time in the future, the only thing that is variable is the maintenance agreement for the child.
From what i seen, she done pretty well by getting the house from my hubby plus a lump sum which was nearly 30k back then. Not bad considering she never worked up until they got divorced. Pretty good earner in my mind.
I think hubby would qualify for legal aid but when he spoke to the lawyer with the last nightmare, the lawyer said that it could take a lot longer to get it sorted out because it was legal aid and we just don't have that kind of time to wait for the wheels of justice to turn over. and to be honest we just can't carry on paying a lawyer anymore. Everything dealing with his ex has been through lawyers cause his ex won't communicate adultly.
The court order hubbys got is a weird one cause it states how much he has to pay which was based on his salary, but it also says that if his ex goes to the CSA (she never has... yet) and they say hubby should pay less, then he still has to make up the difference to what the court awarded. So doesn't matter what the CSA thinks should be paid. Hubby loses out. If CSA say hubby should pay more than the court order, then he has to pay the CSA ruling, but if CSA says it should be less, then he still has to make up the difference, so it matches the court order.
The bailiff thing that hubby got said if he didn't pay the "back" money, they could stop his accounts (joint), repo his personal effects, stop him selling his personal effects (to get money after the accounts were stopped) and stop him selling the house and/or transferring the house to release funds.
To me that meant then that we couldn't get any money for things like food or clothing and the bills which would normally be paid, like mortgage would go into default because the accounts had been stopped. Nice eh?
This is how i'm scared but also angry. Fine, go after my hubby if you want but DONT, DONT do something which affects me or my children! :curse:
She's the lowest of the low if she thinks it's okay to deprive a child of basic necessities, a child that she doesn't even know and me for that matter.
HOW DARE SHE! :curse:
I'm ranting now and getting upset. I said i wouldn't air my dirty laundry in a public place, but here i am doing it. Sorry.
All i came on here for was to see if anyone could give a definitive answer whether my dreams for our future could happen or be jeapordised.
Thanks everyone for your kind words.
It seems you had it sorted as the divorce agreement was very specific. So that bit is done with and the bailiff no longer has an order to enforce. She may try it again but if he turns up again, don't open the door and just tell him that you have a court order that says he is not entitled to enforce.
Ex's can be mental but she cant stop your visa, and as for stopping your accounts or stopping the house sale, she can only do that with a court order which she cant get because the divorce agreement is very specific.
Sadly i suspect she will continue until you leave and will try more things - and I can say is that it will end, you will move to a better life, and she will still be there, bitter and angry and wasting her life worrying about you.
#17
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
A couple of other things could happen though:
1. Depending on what the divorce settlement says, she may be entitled to a share of the proceeds from the house sale. (This is a completely seperate issue from the maintenance money. She can't claim a part of the house sale proceeds because your husband is currently not paying maintenance. It's just that some divorce settlements specifiy that the other party gets a percentage of the sale proceeds.)
2. When you're in Oz, the English Child Support Agency has no jurisdiciton and can't force your husband to pay maintenance. But your husband's ex can contact the Australian Child Support Agency to get maintenace payments out of your husband.
As for bailiffs coming to the house: Don't let them in!!!! Your are not obliged to let them into your house and they are not allowed to force their way in. But once you've let them in, they can take stuff.
Bailiffs can't "stop" your husband's bank accounts (how would they know the bank account details in the first place).
Gina
(used to work as Citizen's Advice Bureau advisor)
#18
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Hang in there, sounds like she's just trying her best at scuppering your plans and got a case of the green eyed monster syndrome! She cant stop ou from going!
Dont let the Baliffs in they have no real powers, unless they come with court orders! extremely doubtful in your case the ex would surely have to go back to court to get the order enforced.
It would be a good idea to keep copies of all payments made to her, letters etc etc in case she tries anything when you are in Oz, but once your OH is working again and she is receiving her 30 pieces of gold I am sure she will leave you alone again to get on with your life, Silly Moo, some people just cant seem to muster up the maturity to communicate directly, me and the OH have a whole load of Ex's, Ex MIL, Ex FIL Ex this person and that person trying to put a spoke in the works but still cant speak the spoken word!, Sad sad people me thinks
Eve x
Dont let the Baliffs in they have no real powers, unless they come with court orders! extremely doubtful in your case the ex would surely have to go back to court to get the order enforced.
It would be a good idea to keep copies of all payments made to her, letters etc etc in case she tries anything when you are in Oz, but once your OH is working again and she is receiving her 30 pieces of gold I am sure she will leave you alone again to get on with your life, Silly Moo, some people just cant seem to muster up the maturity to communicate directly, me and the OH have a whole load of Ex's, Ex MIL, Ex FIL Ex this person and that person trying to put a spoke in the works but still cant speak the spoken word!, Sad sad people me thinks
Eve x
#19
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Bromley
Posts: 14
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Thanks everyone. I managed to have a sleep on it, albeit restless.
Hiya Niki. That was interesting what you said about if the parent with care dies, i do not know what would happen with his kid in that case. With hubby not having seen him for many years i'd imagine the kid would go to his ex's parents even if hubby was entitled as the biological parent to look after him. It doesn't bear thinking about to be honest, that would just create an almighty rift in hubbys life as his ex's family aren't very nice people.
Hi Gina.
Thanks for your help and suggestions. Hubby's divorce agreement means that his ex wouldn't be allowed to get a slice of any proceeds from the house. It would be a bit of a cheek if she did, cause she got hubbys old house as part of the divorce settlement! The bailiffs didn't come round saying they were taking hubbys goods, they came round with a letter which said that if he didn't pay the money "owed" within i think it was two weeks, they could stop his accounts, take his personal possessions and stop him from selling or transferring the house. It was all on the letter which was put through the door as no one was in at the time, sorry i wasn't clear earlier. I can't find the letter they brought round as we were pretty upset by it at the time, but i think it was authorised by the courts via hubbys ex's lawyers.
Anything to do with courts and lawyers and stuff just gives me the heebie jeebies, i go all shaky and start to talk nervously.
Gina
Hubbys maintenance order is enforceable in the UK. Do you know if that is enforceable in Oz? I thought i might have been told or read somewhere that if you still worked for a UK company in Oz it would be enforceable, but not if you work for an Oz company?
It would be good for us if the maintenance order wasn't enforceable in Oz and hubbys ex went to Oz CSA and they calculated maintenance on his Oz wages and he paid that, but not so good if the maintenance order he has just now is still enforceable in Oz and he has to pay the amount he has been paying, despite having what we think will be a lower salary than in the UK if that makes sense.
The last thing we need is to come over to Oz and then hubbys ex starts courts and lawyers and stuff for money, that would just cripple our new start in Oz as we need every penny we got.
Hiya Niki. That was interesting what you said about if the parent with care dies, i do not know what would happen with his kid in that case. With hubby not having seen him for many years i'd imagine the kid would go to his ex's parents even if hubby was entitled as the biological parent to look after him. It doesn't bear thinking about to be honest, that would just create an almighty rift in hubbys life as his ex's family aren't very nice people.
Hi Gina.
Thanks for your help and suggestions. Hubby's divorce agreement means that his ex wouldn't be allowed to get a slice of any proceeds from the house. It would be a bit of a cheek if she did, cause she got hubbys old house as part of the divorce settlement! The bailiffs didn't come round saying they were taking hubbys goods, they came round with a letter which said that if he didn't pay the money "owed" within i think it was two weeks, they could stop his accounts, take his personal possessions and stop him from selling or transferring the house. It was all on the letter which was put through the door as no one was in at the time, sorry i wasn't clear earlier. I can't find the letter they brought round as we were pretty upset by it at the time, but i think it was authorised by the courts via hubbys ex's lawyers.
Anything to do with courts and lawyers and stuff just gives me the heebie jeebies, i go all shaky and start to talk nervously.
Gina
Hubbys maintenance order is enforceable in the UK. Do you know if that is enforceable in Oz? I thought i might have been told or read somewhere that if you still worked for a UK company in Oz it would be enforceable, but not if you work for an Oz company?
It would be good for us if the maintenance order wasn't enforceable in Oz and hubbys ex went to Oz CSA and they calculated maintenance on his Oz wages and he paid that, but not so good if the maintenance order he has just now is still enforceable in Oz and he has to pay the amount he has been paying, despite having what we think will be a lower salary than in the UK if that makes sense.
The last thing we need is to come over to Oz and then hubbys ex starts courts and lawyers and stuff for money, that would just cripple our new start in Oz as we need every penny we got.
#20
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Trixiebell, you will be fine, i know when my ex was going throught the same rubbish with empty threats etc etc i took advice prior to doing anything and i got told that once you do go to Oz the legal legislation that has been agreed in the UK does not bare any relevance as it is Oz legislation that you are to obide by. Every situation is completly different in that i am taking our child with me but i truly believe that you will be ok and it will work out for you. Hang on in there chick. And if you wish to shout and scream on here feel free we are all in this together in a lot of ways especially to support each other
#21
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Bromley
Posts: 14
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Thanks Vic's
Do you mind if i ask if that information about legal legislation was from an official source or from someone else?
I'm sure i read somewhere months ago that the court agreement made in the UK is still valid in Oz but i can't find the website again.
Thanks for your help, you've really helped me here. Wish i could return the favour somehow to you and the rest of the people on here.
Do you mind if i ask if that information about legal legislation was from an official source or from someone else?
I'm sure i read somewhere months ago that the court agreement made in the UK is still valid in Oz but i can't find the website again.
Thanks for your help, you've really helped me here. Wish i could return the favour somehow to you and the rest of the people on here.
#22
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Thanks Vic's
Do you mind if i ask if that information about legal legislation was from an official source or from someone else?
I'm sure i read somewhere months ago that the court agreement made in the UK is still valid in Oz but i can't find the website again.
Thanks for your help, you've really helped me here. Wish i could return the favour somehow to you and the rest of the people on here.
Do you mind if i ask if that information about legal legislation was from an official source or from someone else?
I'm sure i read somewhere months ago that the court agreement made in the UK is still valid in Oz but i can't find the website again.
Thanks for your help, you've really helped me here. Wish i could return the favour somehow to you and the rest of the people on here.
Ta
Eve x
#23
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Bromley
Posts: 14
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Hee hee! I'll try Eve. Got to feed my little 'un then struggle to get her in the bath later before bedtime before i can get peace n quiet to search for it.
#25
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Thanks Vic's
Do you mind if i ask if that information about legal legislation was from an official source or from someone else?
I'm sure i read somewhere months ago that the court agreement made in the UK is still valid in Oz but i can't find the website again.
Thanks for your help, you've really helped me here. Wish i could return the favour somehow to you and the rest of the people on here.
Do you mind if i ask if that information about legal legislation was from an official source or from someone else?
I'm sure i read somewhere months ago that the court agreement made in the UK is still valid in Oz but i can't find the website again.
Thanks for your help, you've really helped me here. Wish i could return the favour somehow to you and the rest of the people on here.
good luck
#26
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Bromley
Posts: 14
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Trixie, i got the advice from a solicitor specialising in family law who i used for the stat dec and parental responsibility advice. Like i said though every case is totally different and i would advise you to go to a free law clinic where someone specialised in family law and emigration, i am by no means any professional it is what i was advised for my circumstances.
good luck
good luck
Thanks hun, we'll see how we get on. Take care.
#27
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 18
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
PMD ya
#28
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
A Bailiff cannot work without a Court Order, Liability Order unless it is for commercial rent and even still they must be Certificated by the Court and bound by the Distress for Rent Rules. No Bailiff can seize goods without authority and cannot by law be in the business of buying debts or have their certification removed.
Depending on the type of warrant, liability order or distress warrant, there is myriad of regulations for each type of debt enforcement. In the same way there are several different types of Bailiff. Sheriffs officers, private certificated bailiffs, enforcement officers and so on.
It would be shrewd to get some professional advice for your specific circumstances. Relying on internet posts which read "dont let them in and they cant do anything" is just fine...until your car parked outside your house is towed away.
A fair statement to make though is this. A civil debt cannot stop you migrating. It doesnt matter if you have 1 or 30 CCJ's against you, 4 council tax liability orders and so on. The risk of any relatively small debt (by that I mean not in the hundreds of thousands) being enforced against you in Australia is very small for practical reasons.
Depending on the type of warrant, liability order or distress warrant, there is myriad of regulations for each type of debt enforcement. In the same way there are several different types of Bailiff. Sheriffs officers, private certificated bailiffs, enforcement officers and so on.
It would be shrewd to get some professional advice for your specific circumstances. Relying on internet posts which read "dont let them in and they cant do anything" is just fine...until your car parked outside your house is towed away.
A fair statement to make though is this. A civil debt cannot stop you migrating. It doesnt matter if you have 1 or 30 CCJ's against you, 4 council tax liability orders and so on. The risk of any relatively small debt (by that I mean not in the hundreds of thousands) being enforced against you in Australia is very small for practical reasons.
#29
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
Absolutely true. But the reality is that "most" bailiff companies have very shady operating practices. (Excellent "Panorama" programme on this not long ago, where a journalist went undercover with the largest bailiff cimpany in the UK. Frightening!) Once a bailiff has taken something, it's very hard to get it back - even if they took it when they shouldn't.
No bailiff - whatever legal authority, e.g. court order he has - has the right of entry into someone's house. That's the basis of the advice (given by any CAB office) of not opening the door or window to them. (Bailiffs have been known to use ladders and climb through open windows.)
A car parked on the road is fair game to a bailiff because the road is a public place (o.k. I know there are private roads, but let's keep it simple).
Gina
P.S. Bailiffs (and other debt collectors) are also not allowed to frighten or harrass debtors in any way - it's a criminal (!) offence to do so. See: "The Administration of Justice Act 1970" and specifically, "The Protection from Harassment Act 1997". But few people know any of that. And as bailiffs are generally paid by results, frightening people and harrassing them remains a favourite bailiff tactic.
No bailiff - whatever legal authority, e.g. court order he has - has the right of entry into someone's house. That's the basis of the advice (given by any CAB office) of not opening the door or window to them. (Bailiffs have been known to use ladders and climb through open windows.)
A car parked on the road is fair game to a bailiff because the road is a public place (o.k. I know there are private roads, but let's keep it simple).
Gina
P.S. Bailiffs (and other debt collectors) are also not allowed to frighten or harrass debtors in any way - it's a criminal (!) offence to do so. See: "The Administration of Justice Act 1970" and specifically, "The Protection from Harassment Act 1997". But few people know any of that. And as bailiffs are generally paid by results, frightening people and harrassing them remains a favourite bailiff tactic.
Last edited by GinaUK; Jul 23rd 2008 at 5:30 am.
#30
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 3,162
Re: Scared hubbys ex might stop us from emigrating
No bailiff - whatever legal authority, e.g. court order he has - has the right of entry into someone's house. That's the basis of the advice (given by any CAB office) of not opening the door or window to them. (Bailiffs have been known to use ladders and climb through open windows.)
I remember when I was quite young having instructions from my Mum to not open any door or windows to anyone I didn't know.