International Child Maintenance and Family Obligations: A Practical Guide

The growth in international mobility means that there are now significantly more child and spousal maintenance cases which include an international element. Enhanced inter-country cooperation in the processing of such applications has resulted in more effective recovery of maintenance, so that practitioners and legal advisors need to have a good grasp of the various rules and regulations in respect of jurisdiction and reciprocal enforcement in this increasingly relevant and complex area.

This book provides straightforward guidance to the law and procedures that govern applications for new orders and enforcement of existing orders to and from abroad. An overview is provided for all available applications under domestic law, in addition to procedural guides and analysis of international law (including the EU Council Maintenance Regulation 4/2009 and the implementation of the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance). The summary of enforcement procedure will equally assist legal advisors at family proceedings courts and practitioners instructed to deal with financial orders and provide advice on reciprocal enforcement.

A comprehensive review of the new statutory regime for claims through the Child Support Agency is also provided, so that clients can be advised about the new “gross income” scheme and how decisions interact with international law.