Tips for getting child support when the other parent lives overseas
GETTING child support or maintenance when one parent lives overseas can be a tricky process, especially if the country the other parent lives in isn’t a ‘reciprocating state’. This is compounded by parents who ‘run off’ and renege on their promises and responsibilities to their children; those who just don’t pay, because they think Jamaican law doesn’t apply to them; those who pay sporadically; or those who don’t pay enough.
The list of ‘reciprocating states’ as set out in the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Regulations are:
1. The United States of America: Maryland, New Jersey, Florida.
2. Canada: Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island.
3. Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands.
4. Other countries: United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Niue, and Western Samoa.
The Ministry of Justice processes applications regarding maintenance for children whose parents reside in the above states, in keeping with the Maintenance Orders (Facilities For Enforcement) Act. The enforcement of maintenance orders is done in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and orders made in Jamaica are sent to these states to be registered and enforced.
What if the other parent lives in a non-reciprocating state?
A person may still file for maintenance even when the delinquent parent resides in a non-reciprocating state. Once an order is made, providing all criteria is met for service on the other party, etc, the person who gets the order will be required to initiate proceedings in that state by sending a certified copy of the court order for registration and enforcement.
While the ministry strongly recommends that an attorney be sought in this instance, there is a way around it. Once an order for maintenance is issued in a court in Jamaica, the parent can seek to have the order domesticated in the state or country where the other parent resides. The courts in the United States (US), for example, may honour a legitimate order of a foreign court and enforce that order there. You can get help from the child support enforcement organisation in the jurisdiction where the other parent resides. The important first step is to have a support order from the Family or Supreme Court in Jamaica.
Don’t know the other parent’s address?
The child support enforcement agency in the state the other parent lives will help you. If you don’t know the address of the other parent, simple details like his or her family members’ names, car they drive, employer, physical description and other details can help them track the delinquent parent down. Once they do that, they will be served with the summons to appear in court.
What about the parent who pays sporadically?
Stuck with a parent who pays support when they feel like it, and not in the amounts you agreed? A legitimised support order from a court, with wage garnishing, will solve that. This is strictly enforced in countries like the US.
Will the amount be the same as in the Jamaican court order?
Not necessarily, and this differs depending on the state the other parent lives in. The laws governing this kind of obligation vary dramatically state-by-state. Each individual state is responsible for developing its own guidelines for determining child support. Therefore, there may be an increase or decrease on the support ordered by the Jamaican court, as well as additions like an obligation to provide health insurance.
What about arrears?
The court will order arrears based on both its policy regarding the number of years of arrears claimable, and what is owed after the date of the Jamaican order. Example, in some states arrears only go back a few years. The state will calculate the arrears owed, and it will be added to the support order signed by the judge. These arrears will be paid for the life of the order, and bulk payments will be made, for example, out of the paying parent’s tax refunds.
What child qualifies?
In the case where the child is not a citizen of Jamaica but lives in Jamaica with the parent who was granted custody, the law in Jamaica concerning maintenance of children does not make a distinction between minors who are citizens and non-citizens. Therefore a person may file a claim for such orders concerning any child in Jamaica.
What about the reverse, when the delinquent parent lives in Jamaica, and the child abroad?
The reverse also works in the same way a support order is entered for enforcement overseas. Where a maintenance order has been made against a person residing in Jamaica, upon receipt of the certified copy of the order by the ministry, it will be sent to the court for registration. A hearing will be held for confirmation of the order, where the parent can mount a defence to vary the order. If at the hearing the person served with the summons does not appear, or on appearing, fails to satisfy the court that the order ought not to be confirmed, the court may confirm the order either without modification or with such modification as may seem just.
Language is not an inhibitor…
Where a maintenance order which is sought to be registered or confirmed is in a language other than the English language, a translation in the English language will be done, and this approved translation will be deemed to be the sole and proper version of the order. It shall then have the same force and effect and be enforceable as if it had been originally made by the Jamaican court.
.. .Neither is currency
Where sums payable under a maintenance order are made in a reciprocating state in another currency, such order shall not be registered or confirmed until those sums are converted to Jamaican currency.
Procedure
Applicants may visit any of the island’s Family Courts / Parish Courts for further information on how to access the service.
