New Law Supports International Child Support Cooperation

September 15, 2012

New Law Supports International Child Support Cooperation

New York child support determinations are vital to the future wellbeing of children with parents who live apart. Unfortunately, enforcing a child support order can be problematic, especially if the parent owing child support moves out of state or out of the country. Now, new federal legislation will make it easier for New Yorkers and families in the rest of the nation to receive child support from parents who are living abroad.

An International Agreement to Benefit Families

The legislation recently passed in the House of Representatives would ratify an international treaty agreement called the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. The agreement should do exactly what its name suggests -- promote cooperation among countries that have signed the agreement to make it easier to collect support obligations across international boundaries.

Under this agreement, the participating countries will share information about the whereabouts of parents with child support obligations living in their countries. The United States Department of Health and Human Services will be able to provide the New York with information the state needs to go after overseas parents who owe child support, making it easier for states to gain the information.

Hope for an Effective Process

Treaty signers include European Union countries, Ukraine, Albania, Norway and a few other nations. The United States will be a full participant if the Senate signs off on the House bill, which is expected, and President Obama signs it in to law.

A few U.S. states now recognize and respond to child support enforcement requests from abroad, but the reverse has not generally been true for many foreign countries. Once all the signers have ratified the treaty, parents will not be able to duck New York child support obligations by relocating to any of the signing nations.

Children have the right to adequate support from their parents, and an attorney specializing in family law will be able to help protect that right. Consulting an experienced attorney early in the process of separation or divorce is especially important when children are involved.

Article provided by Carol W. Most & Associates, P.C.
Visit us at http://www.cwmostlaw.com/