Is Child Support Enforceable In Different Countries (Don't Need Answer Fast)

[HeyHomie]

In a TV show I watch, a man living in England gets divorced from his wife (he was at fault, in case it matters). He then moves to Australia.

Assuming the English judge mandated that the man pay child support, does his move to Australia effectively negate the ruling? Would an Australian court have the authority to punish the guy for failing to pay the support?

[friedo]

Child support orders are civil judgments and they can be domesticated in the jurisdiction to which the noncustodial parent flees. Here’s a blog post specifically about enforcing UK judgments in Australia.

[HeyHomie]

Thanks, very helpful answer!

[PastTense]

Collecting child support internationally can be a complex and time-consuming process. If a US court has entered an order for child support and your child’s other parent moves out of the country, the process to have that order enforced depends on the country where the child’s other parent currently lives. The US is a member of the Hague Convention and has bilateral treaties with a number of other countries that help simplify the process. If your child’s other parent has moved to a country where no treaty exists, expect the process to be significantly more challenging.

3 Ways to Collect Child Support Internationally - wikiHow Life

Note that besides the legal issues, lawyers cost money–and it may or may not be economically feasible to try to pursue it.

[md2000]

This kind of ties into the other thread about how hard it is to disappear.

If someone upped and moved halfway around the world, how easy would it be to find them? I assume in some circumstances - i.e. he’s originally from Australia - it would be a bit easier… but how would you find John Smith in Australia unless you have something like family there he might contact?