Resident parent abroad, can I claim maintenance?

Hi,

Interested in this as going through same process. My ex decided to move abroad taking our child with them and now wants more money.

What happens if never married or never lived together?

Costs of travel to a foreign country - flights, accomodation etc must come into it otherwise how can you finance contact unless very rich? Ultimately is the child and person left behind that suffers.

Many thanks

Hi, can you give more details or start a new thread for better advice.

What country is your ex going to or has already gone to? If you have Parental Responsibility, she needs your or court's permission or make a Leave to Remove application.

Contact costs can be taken into account. CS/SM will depend on what country she is going to - can be ordered by either country.

Hi

Thanks for response.

She has already gone as I lost a L2R and she lives and works abroad but is taking me to court in uk for more money.

I pay her every month based on what I was paying previous minus my contact costs but she feels this is not enough.

Not sure how that works and under which legislation this falls under in uk if she is foreign national in different country.

All I can envisage is being hammered by courts so I cannot afford to go out to see my child which does not seem fair.

Any help or advice appreciated.

It seems you were not married so she cannot apply for AR and spousal support, only CM. Has she gone to a country that comes under REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance - look it up on CSA website). It seems not but if she has, she can apply there and it can come for enforcement here. She can also apply in a non-REMO country.

Else she applies to a court here, which is what it looks like. I would think this will be difficult and expensive for her and at the most she will get CS per CSA guidelines minus perhaps contact costs. I would suggest that at most you pay her CS as per CSA guidelines or maybe just save it separately - you could be setting a precedent by what you pay. PM me if you like with details.

Your ex can make a claim for child maintenance under Schedule 1, Children Act 1989.

The court considers the financial needs of the child and your ability to pay maintenance. It's about balance so although contact expenses are a factor taken into account it's unlikely that child maintenance will be reduced to nil to cover all the costs.