How to Enforce a U.S. Child Support Order in a Non-Reciprocating Nation

My question involves child support in the State of: NY

Hi All,

I posted a similar thread a while back. Now I am in the same situation and I beg anyone for help please.

The father of my child was ordered to pay child support of $700.00 a month.
He left the country and returned to his home country of Spain. He owes about $30K in child support.

Spain is not a reciprocating country for child support. I contacted a lawyer in Spain that will charge me 7K to sue him in Spain.
I know he has a house there and his family might have some real estate.

Has anyone here been successful enforcing a US judgment oversea? I really would like some feedback please.
The arrears are technically payable to the child support collection agency.

If anyone here can reply I d really appreciated.

L.

If he's in Spain and all of his assets are in Spain, then your recourse is through the Spanish courts. I can't make any promises about the degree to which lawyer in Spain can help you, whether your ex- has sufficient income and assets to pay an appreciable amount toward his arrears, or what would be a reasonable legal fee given the facts of the case and the complexity of proceedings in Spanish courts. Should we infer that he doesn't travel back to the U.S.?

NY directly recognizes reciprocity with the following countries :Australia, Austria, Canada (all provinces), Czech Republic, El Salvador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Otherwise, you must go through the International CS Office. Spain is not a member of the Hague CS countries.

thank you Knowitall

A Spain lawyer said that "its possible" to have a US judgment enforced in Spain. They need to validate the US order at the Spain Appellate Court and then find where he lives and serve him;

The father has a huse in Spain, I know that 100% and, the lawyer say, if he transferred the title, there is a 5 years time frame to have the transfer invalidated, if proved he did it to escape his obbligations.

What do you think Knowitall, I really would like your feedback on what you would do in my position. I have a decent job but I really would like to
make him pay for what he owes to his child.

I'm not in a position to tell you what assets your ex- has in Spain, or how Spanish law would treat those assets in the event of your attempt to collect a judgment. For that type of information you really need to talk to a Spanish lawyer or find a resource that addresses Spanish legal issues.

I am SORRY but, anyone here in this forum have ever tried to collect from a father who left the United States?

Are you people telling me that you never heard of a father leaving the US and not paying child support?

All I need is some sort of feedback, please, some sort of sharing experience.

Right now all I feel is I am the only person in USA that had the non custodial father leaving the country. It cannot be, I don't believe it.

Quote:

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Quoting lida

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I am SORRY but, anyone here in this forum have ever tried to collect from a father who left the United States?

Are you people telling me that you never heard of a father leaving the US and not paying child support?

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I'm quite certain that you misunderstood what was said.

Quote:

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All I need is some sort of feedback, please, some sort of sharing experience.

Right now all I feel is I am the only person in USA that had the non custodial father leaving the country. It cannot be, I don't believe it.

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Nobody said you were.

There are 195 countries deadbeat parents can move to. Only a handful are relatively easy to enforce a U.S. child support order.

Outside the easy countries, each non-reciprocating country has its own unique child support laws, so there is no general rule on how to collect child support. Other than it MUST be handled within that country's laws and courts, and it's a good bet that in many countries a U.S. Court Order is worth less than the paper it was written on.

Which boils down to the fact that IF the non-reciprocating foreign nation has child support laws, one often needs to start from scratch in that country to create and enforce a new child support order. And no one on any legal forum outside of Spain is likely qualified to offer a second opinion over of a family law attorney in Spain on that countries child support laws.

You may wish to get an opinion from another attorney in Spain if you question the attorney you have already contacted. A long shot would be to find a family law attorney in your state who may be fluent in Spain family law or have originally been educated and licensed in Spain.

thank you tex11,

Ok non reciprocating countries have own laws BUT a US money judgment is recognizable anywhere in the world correct?

It doesn't have to start from scratch. It has to be translated and recognized by the court. I already contacted a Spain lawyer and they
want about 6K to complete the process, all they need is his address.

And in any case, does Interpol help to chase criminal around the world?

I am really surprised that no one here has no experience/reference/ in collecting child support from a father that live in another country

This is a US board and there's really not too much additional information that anyone here can give you, including the attorneys who responded.

A child support judgment is not a money judgment the way you're thinking about it.

You need, as stated above, a child support attorney in the states familiar with collecting child support in non-reciprocating nations such as Spain, or an attorney in Spain. Nobody here can definitively tell you if the Spanish Courts will recognize a US support order (unless they've put in extensive research on the matter).