My wife and I are looking at moving to Canada and I was wondering if my commitment to pay child support would be a problem?

Basically I currently pay child support to an ex-partner via the CSA (Child Support Agency), as far as I can see if I leave the UK then their jurisdiction does not apply any more, and the mother would have to apply via here local court for a maintenance order that would then be passed via REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders).

Does anyone have experience of this?

I don't like the idea of being in contact with the Canadian courts on arrival to a new country, or spending a lot of money on legal fees.

I'm in a slightly similar position to you. I have a child back in the UK and pay maintenance and will do until he is 17 or finishes full-time education. The CSA has never been involved. As my partner and I are in the process of making new wills in Quebec, I took legal advice in the UK regarding what will happen inheritance-wise if I snuff it before the maintenance ends. I essentially asked if my ex would have a claim on my estate if I pegged out early. The answer was that she would be able to mount a claim if I were still deemed to be resident/domiciled in the UK. As I'm not, the UK authorities wouldn't be able to touch my estate in Canada. However, the ex might be able to raise the issue in a Canadian court. I'm not sure with how things would work in your case but I see some parallels.

Thanks for the reply I can see where you are coming from but I am more asking how the process works if you don't already have a court maintenance agreement as the CSA one is null and void if I leave the country.

I can see that there is a difference. In my case the amount of maintenance was agreed between the two of us and is indeed set out in a court order. The UK courts can no longer enforce it but a Canadian one might.

I think there is at least one UK lawyer on this forum. I just can't remember who it is.

I could be wrong, but is it not 'dyingtoleaveengland'

Raine

Could be. Isn't there one already here? In BC?

Why would you stop paying child support just because you're moving to Canada? Your child will still need and deserve those funds I imagine? Have I missed something?

Quite. I kept paying when I moved, even though it was painful for the first two years when I wasn't working.

The CSA jurisdiction most certainly does apply and is enforced through the local child support agency in Canada (they are provincial). REMO gives the local agency the ability enforce your UK order, payable to your child in £ as per the CSA arrangement you are currently obliged to comply with. Their collection arms are far reaching compared to the CSA, so I would respectfully suggest you continue to pay for your child or face your Canadian wages being garnished, your bank account emptied and assets being seized. Any movement of assets or avoidance tactics taken within two years of the CSA applying for enforcement through REMO will be disregarded. Canada takes a very firm stance on child support. My ex found that out to his cost.

Am I misreading the quote below, or are you saying I can continue to pay my existing agreement?

http://www.dca.gov.uk/family/remo/faq.htm
I wanted to know the process of who and how your income is assessed in Canada, at the end of the day I am not likely to be earning half as much as I do in England, it's my wife who is appying to be a Police Officer who will be on the better wage, unfortunatly my job does not translate to Canada

I have no intention of stopping paying.

My mothers ex-husband has lived in Canada for 5 years now and left 2 children behind in the UK, he was paying through the CSA when he was in england but when he left the UK he stopped paying ,the CSA told my they do no after people who leave the UK, what is the REMO??? Has the law changed???

thax

REMO is on the CSA site, it is an agreement where the local court enforces a UK court maintenance order, I am looking to find out how that asses what you pay as the CSA assessment means nothing if you leave the country.

http://www.csa.gov.uk/old/contact/abroad.asp

Neil

thanks neil

In the absence of an amount specified court order, the mother of the kids in your case is entitled to apply to have the CSA agreement given the force of a court order, if it does not already have the force of a court order under UK legislation, which is what I did/am doing. Your income in the UK as per the CSA assessment is imputed in Canada, as it is not considered to be in the child(ren's) best interests to be financially disadvantaged by your move to Canada. You have to prove a material change in circumstances to the Canadian court, a change that is not your fault or within your control to have the amount payable adjusted to reflect your lower Canadian income. Moving to Canada is your choice, so most of the time that argument fails. In the alternative, the mother of your UK based offspring can apply for child support in a Canadian court (very easy to get) and the resulting court order will be enforced against you under the Child Support Guidelines, which are the basis upon which most provinces award child support. http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/sup/grl/glp.html

From the CSA site:

A UK resident who wishes to apply to obtain maintenance from a person overseas should approach their local magistrates' court (or county court where the order was made) if they have an existing court order for maintenance; or their local magistrates' court if there is no existing order
They may apply for their order to be enforced in the country where the payer resides. Procedures also exist to enable an applicant to ask the foreign authorities to create an order for maintenance on their behalf. There is no need for the applicant to engage a solicitor. Court staff will help the applicant and will forward the application to the relevant authority. The authority will check that the application is in order and send it to the foreign authority or court for registration and enforcement against the person living there.



Some provinces are better than others at the REMO thing. BC and Alberta are the most tenacious.

Thanks for the detailed reply, it is very helpful and makes sense but I have some questions...

The CSA states...
So this implies that the CSA assessment is not valid, and does not say they will try and enforce the UK order, but implies they would do it through the Canadian courts.

At the end of the day if we do end up moving I don't want this to be hassle, and I want to know where I stand.... Form what I see I have no legal obligation to pay the CSA order if I am abroad, the the quote above implies that a new assessment would be made.

My questions therefore are:

1. Can this be sorted with a lump sum agreement with the mother before I go, or do the CSA rules not allow this.
2. If I go - do I stop paying the CSA and give them my new address to forward to the mother so she can apply for maintenance to be assessed in Canada.
3. If the mother applies for maintenance will they enforce the existing order or ask for Canadian courts to asses?
4. What will dealing with the Canadian courts cost me?
5. Does this issue in any way affect my immigration, I would not want to be deported or thought badly of.

Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to avoid paying, I just want to pay a fair amount relative to my salary, I would initially be earning nothing and my salary could be half what I earn now when I do get a job.