Maintenance towards child HELP
 

Hi, I'm probably not posting in the right area, I can't see where I can post this but need some advise and haven't a clue where to start looking on the net.

My OH has a son, 11, from a previous marriage, they live in Perth, and we live in the UK. They both lived in Zimbabwe until the son was 4, she then moved to Oz and he the UK. Part of the divorce agreement was that OH paid maintenance until such time that she took him from the country.

Now, 7 years later, and she has split from her second hubby (who she has had 2 more children with) she has asked OH that he must pay maintenance towards his son (which we're more than happy to do) but she's stated the reason is becuase the Oz benefits system have told her to claim money from the natural father otherwise they can take legal proceedings to get money from him?

Am I wrong in thinking that, as we don't live in Oz, they actually can't take any kind of action against us? Is she just saying this to 'frighten' us into giving her money?

As I said, we've no problem with giving money towards him, it's a long time coming, but we also have a baby ourselves. Does anyone know the minimum a father would be pursued for under Oz benefit rules?

I hope this makes sense .. ;)

Re: Maintenance towards child HELP
 

I can't tell you the minimum ... that depends on how much is earnt, how much time the child spends with the natural father. It also makes a difference if the child is an Australian citizen, or not, and the parent the child resides with.

However if all the boxes are ticked, the CSA can work with the CSA in the UK to get the child support from your husband. I don't know about legal issues and that's pretty convoluted.

Anyway, here's your first port of call ... the Child Support Agency.

http://www.csa.gov.au/

There are calculators etc to help you. I suggest that you call them, or the UK lot, to see if they can give you any assistance as it's not a cut and dried matter.