Hi Ims,
Just wondering if anyone has had experiences with getting Child Support while the other parent is working/temporary living overseas?
My childs father left for Japan early in the year, and now has a child support debt from refusing to pay.
I have contacted them, but I was just wondering the process. He's been there roughly 8 months, and CSA has said they might need to hand the case over to the Japanese govt. to deal with. He won't make any voluntary payments, and his parents won't give me any of the details child support have asked me to provide & won't provide it to them themselves(phone, address, employer, super info, banking info, car make, model, rego, & where it is, etc.).
What was the process like for you? Coming upto christmas the money would be amazingly useful, just for overdue bills, and rent!!
Any sort of info, or anyones experiences would be really helpful.
Thanks in advance!!
5 Replies
While I have no experience in this matter, I imagine that if and when he does return to Australia he will have to declare any income earned from overseas. It'll catch up with him eventually.
I'm sorry but you won't see the money before Xmas. You don't mention whether your ex is an Australian citizen so i'm going to assume he isn't. CSA is correct. My sons father lives in the UK but is a Portuguese citizen. CSA would send my ex letters advising him of how much he had to pay but he would just ignore them. He still does. After ignoring them for the last 7 years CSA have put his income down as $0 and he, according to them, has to pay me $90 per month. Basically, when the payer lives overseas there is jack all CSA can do because the laws in that country are different and their citizens do not have to follow Australian laws when they're in their own country. You will have to wait until the day he lands back in Australia, sad but true. In the meantime, take solace in knowing that everything you have and everything your child needs, you have provided yourself. You did it. You're a strong person. You will make it on your own if you have to. I wish you luck xx
I have no experience with the overseas part ... But I have recieved about 10 payments in 8 years ... Most of the time he works cash in hand and the csa tell me he is living off thin air ... They cant inforce payment as there no employment details and cant be docked ... Its usually a minimum amiunt of 30 a month but occasionally 0 dollars I call and go off ... The amount just keeps accumulating but he wont pay and because its not tens of thousands they cant do anything ... I have let it go and if I ever recieve it its a nice suprise if I never get it then im not disappointed ... So just prepare yourself , you may never recieve anything as much as it sucks dont rely on it...
To: IM2.
Yes, he is an Aus. Citizen. But maybe Japan can just keep him?
& Thank you for the kind words.
I was hoping for positive 'Yes, you WILL have a merry christmas' messages. LOL. Damn it.
Thanks for the replies so far. Any other advice would be great.
Just ensure to keep in touch with the CSA, if you find out he comes back into the country immediately let them know because they can put a stop n his passport to stop him leaving the country until the debt is cleared. Unfortunately until then you'll probably need to sit back and just watch the debt increase :( I don't particularly find CSA very helpful at all when it comes to enforcing agreements and acquiring debts. Good luck!