Getting Support from a Father Living in Germany

This is for the country Germany.

This is a delicate situation. I married my wife who is a German citizen and permanent US resident. She had a son before we married to a dual citizen guy (German/US) and the father still lives in Germany. We are all now living in Hawaii. my step sons father never paid child support to my wife for his son and the father travels to the US mainland like once a year for vacation. We are looking for some advice on what to do in a special case like this as it is unique. So if there are any lawyers out there who might know something, please let us know.

First, what do you think is unique about this situation?

And secondly, what is it that you are trying to do?

I say it is unique because the father lives abroad, and we are trying to get financial support for my step son from his father who doesn't pay anything. Since 2 separate country laws come into play it is difficult to know who to go to. My wife has been trying to get information nod help to know if indeed there can be an enforcement to get support for her son.

Nothing 'delicate' or 'unique' about this situation. Your wife should contact the child support agency in her state of residence for information, and an attorney if necessary.

Once this starts rolling, it is reasonable to expect that one outcome will be the child may start spending some time with his father.

That is fine if they spend time, we both don't have a problem with that. He is just not supporting his child and my wife has had it, it's been 7 years and only contributed under 200 dollars the whole time. How does it work with us going here locally to an enforcement agency but the father living in Germany? He lives and works in Germany with no intentions of ever living in the US.

When mom contacts the child support agency in her state, they should explain it better than anyone here. Which is something she should have done years ago.

Germany does not have a reciprocal agreement for support with the US.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/css/international

Were they married when the child was born? If not, has he ever been established as the legal father?

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Quoting EA1070a

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Were they married when the child was born? If not, has he ever been established as the legal father?

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If the baby was born in Germany, does it matter?

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Quoting CourtClerk

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If the baby was born in Germany, does it matter?

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If the mom wants a US Court to issue a support order you tell me - you think they'll take mom's word for it if they weren't married or if paternity hasn't been established? Also, I don't see where OP said the child was born in Germany.

OP is right when he says it's a delicate situation, although complicated is a better word for it. Hawaii has reciprocity with Germany re: support enforcement, but there are other issues at play here that could complicate mom's ability to collect support absent establishment of parentage. I think mom might have to work this from both sides if dad didn't agree to paternity and mom didn't establish paternity under German law.

Also, OP, I ask this purely out of my own curiosity - you say dad has dual US/German citizenship? Germany only allows for dual citizenship in really rare situations. And I mean rare, limited situations so that comment piqued my interest. I have friends who were born & raised in the US who have been living in Germany for 10 years and we've actually had some discussions recently about their reservations re: obtaining German citizenship because they would have to turn in their US passports and renounce US citizenship.

OP, my original question still stands.

Ok, to answer a few questions. My step son was born in Germany, his father is on the BC and paternity was established. With regards to the dual citizenship, the father was born from a military father which gave him dual. My bio son with my wife also has dual as he was born in Germany and my wife is still a a german citizen, I'm an American citizen.

So back to the original post, so now that we know paternity was established, does anyone think it would take a very long time to get results? As some might know, Germany isn't the quickest in getting things done.

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Quoting Jay.E

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Ok, to answer a few questions. My step son was born in Germany, his father is on the BC and paternity was established. With regards to the dual citizenship, the father was born from a military father which gave him dual. My bio son with my wife also has dual as he was born in Germany and my wife is still a a german citizen, I'm an American citizen.

So back to the original post, so now that we know paternity was established, does anyone think it would take a very long time to get results? As some might know, Germany isn't the quickest in getting things done.

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Ok, so dad has been established as the legal father. That's good! Hawaii has reciprocity for purposes of child support with Germany, so that's also good!

Gator gave good advice, i just wanted clarification re: dad's status as legal father.

Here's what I would do: Have mom open a case with Child Support Services in Hawaii to get the ball rolling. She'll need to provide as much info as possible. Have her compile all of her paperwork and open a case with Child Support Services. She should provide as much information as possible about dad. If she knows where he works, that would be particularly helpful.

It probably won't be a fast process. If you feel that Child Support Services is giving you the runaround regarding reciprocity, contact a local attorney for some additional help. Persistence is key. That's the best place to start.

And thank you for satisfying my curiosity re: dad's dual citizenship issue.

Thank you all for the info, we are going to get all the process started tomorrow. If/when we have updates, I will surely let you guys know. Thanks.