britnyank

Hi,
I know there have been other threads on this subject but since I cannot access the search tool at the moment, I'm having to ask from scratch (sorry).

What's the legal position regarding child maintenance payments made by ex-spouse if I take the children away from UK? (This is not payments through the CSA, but a mutual agreement ratified in a Consent Order through the courts. Things have worked well so far but obviously ex-spouse is not too happy about the kids moving 6000 miles away and is starting to get 'icky'.)

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thank you.

robskatie

Hi, I have had a similar problem as this, as far as I found out your ex is NOT liable to keep paying once you leave the UK, you could do the same as you are doing now and try to have it ratified in court or you could again come to a mutual agreement where he will continue to pay (if you trust him to do so?)
My ex pays continues to pay without any court orders (people think I'm crazy!) but he does so for the sake of the kids. Are you still living in the UK? If so make sure you get this cleared up before you leave, but be prepared, if he is refusing to pay you could end up having a struggle.

Ellie203

I'll tell you what happened to me and hopefully you'll find it helpful. The following pertains to Scottish Law, so if you're in England (or were divorced in England) I'm not sure if it will also apply in your case. I'm inclined to think that because your Child Support Agreement has been ratified by the Court, and is therefore a legal Agreement, you may have the same recourse as I had if your ex defaults on Child Support. Of course, I'm not an attorney, so I don't know for sure.

My ex 'decided' to stop paying Child Support for our son, who lives with me in the US. This had nothing to do with him not wanting our son to live outwith the UK, however that's another story, which I won't go into.
I immediately contacted my solicitor in the UK who had processed my divorce to find out what, if any, recourse I had. She was delighted to direct me to the Sheriff Officer in the UK who presides in the jurisdiction where my ex resides. He was promptly served with a Summons for non-payment of Child Support as he had breeched the Minute of Agreement pertaining to our divorce. Needless to say, he quickly repaid the huge lump-sum of arrears and reinstated monthly Child Support. However, he was furious with me and decided to make things difficult by paying Child Support in the form of monthly check, sent via unsecured International Mail. This resulted in checks going 'missing' and those that did reach their destination did not arrive in a timely manner. Our Minute of Agreement states that Child Support is to be paid on the 8th day of the month via Direct Debit into my UK bank account. As my ex was still in violation of the Agreement and, yet again, in arrears of Child Support (the 'missing' checks ), I contacted the Sheriff Officer and, once more, my ex was served with a Summons for arrears of payment. However, this time he was advised if he continued to breach the terms of the Minute of Agreement, the Sheriff Officer would apply to the Courts for Arrestment of Wages on my behalf and, given his past history of default, this would be granted unconditionally. This meant his wages would be arrested, and Child Support would be deducted at source to ensure timely and regular Child Support payments. My ex paid the arrears and has since complied with the Minute of Agreement.
My next hurdle will be when/if my son goes to college. As per our Minute of Agreement, my ex is required to pay Child Support until our son reaches 18yrs of age (he's 16 and a half right now), at which time it will stop...unless our son goes on to study further in full-time education, in which case my ex is still liable to help me support our son financially. That'll be a doozy!

Bob

CSA can't make him pay if your living out of the UK as your out of their jurisdiction as it were, so best maintain friendly contact I guess...