The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) usually deals with child maintenance where both parents and the child(ren) live in England and Wales. The CMS can also deal with child maintenance if the paying parent lives abroad but works for one of the following organisations:
- UK government, e.g. civil servants based overseas, such as in a foreign embassy;
- UK Armed Forces;
- UK-based company;
- On secondment for certain organisations like the NHS or for a local authority.
If none of these apply and an agreement cannot be reached with the paying parent, then you may wish to consider seeking child maintenance payments through the REMO process. REMO stands for Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders and it is the framework between countries to help recover or make changes to child maintenance from parents who live in different countries.
As it stands, the UK has reciprocal agreements with over 100 countries. A full list of countries with reciprocal agreements with the UK in respect of child maintenance orders can be found here.
In this blog, we will go through the steps to enforce a child maintenance order in the country where the paying parent lives.
Step 1: Obtain an enforceable court order
The first step is to obtain an enforceable court order. A calculation from the CMS will not suffice.
To obtain a court order, you will need to apply to the Family Court for a child maintenance order and this application should be made under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 (on a Form A).
The Family Court will then determine the appropriate level of payment, taking into account the following factors:
- The income of the paying parent;
- The number of nights per year which the children spend with the paying parent;
- Whether the paying parent pays child maintenance for any other children;
- The paying parent’s travel costs associated with having contact with the children.
These considerations mirror those which are ordinarily taken into account by the CMS when both parents reside in England and Wales.
It is a common concern that the paying parent may not cooperate with court proceedings. However, the Family Court can still make an order even if the paying parent does not engage. Therefore, regardless of whether you think the paying parent will cooperate, it is vitally important that you first obtain an order – so that this can be enforced via the REMO process.
Step 2: Applying to the Central Authority
Once you have a child maintenance order, you can start the enforcement process. To do this, you need to locate the ‘Central Authority’ in the country where you are living. In England, the Central Authority is at: The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Unit (REMO), Victory House, 30-34 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6EX.
You can find the list of reciprocating countries and their Central Authority addresses here.
Once you have located the Central Authority, you will need to complete an application for ‘registration and enforcement’ of your order and the specific form you need to complete will vary from country to country.
Your application should be supported by the court order together with details of any steps you have taken to obtain payment from the paying parent. If you have details of where the paying parent is living or working, this can also help with the process – the more information the better. If you are seeking to enforce your child maintenance order in a non-English-speaking country, you should obtain a certified translation of the order.
Alongside the application for registration and enforcement of your order, it is likely that you will asked to produce a Statement of Enforceability from the court which made the original child maintenance order. This can be a time-consuming process and you may need to attend the court in person to obtain this.
Step 3: Enforcing the court order
Once your application is ready to be submitted, the Central Authority in England will liaise with the Central Authority in the paying parent’s jurisdiction. The process to register the court order in the receiving REMO country can be very slow but the paying parent will, eventually, be contacted by their Central Authority and provided with a copy of your application.
Once your order has been registered, you can proceed with enforcement as if that country made the order in the first place. It is worth noting that once the other country has registered your court order, the REMO process allows for the amount due to be modified. We strongly recommend that you instruct a specialist lawyer in the reciprocating REMO country (where the paying parent lives) so that you are represented at any enforcement hearing.
For illustrative purposes, if an application to enforce a foreign family court order was made via REMO in England and Wales, the enforcement process is likely to involve 3 court hearings, culminating in a Final Hearing where the Judge will determine how much is to be paid and the method of payment. The enforcement process will vary from country to country.
If you are successful in enforcing your order, it may be possible to seek a Cost Order against the person who was not paying. Whether or not you can obtain a Cost Order at the end of your REMO case will depend on the specific rules of the country enforcing the order. Other issues such as interest on late payments will differ from country to country.
How can a specialist solicitor help?
Whilst you do not have to instruct a solicitor to access the REMO process, the application (and ensuring you have the correct documentation for each stage) can be quite complex. Failing to provide the correct documents can lead to delays spanning many months due to processing times with the Central Authority, so it is important to be as accurate as possible with the original submission.
At Rayden Solicitors, we have a team of REMO specialists who can assist you with your application and the registration process. We also have links to a number of specialist family lawyers in other countries and states, who will be able to progress your application for enforcement in the paying parent’s country.
