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Sorry in advance if this rattles on a bit, but I want to put as much detail in so that answers (if any!) have a chance to be useful!
I am a UK citizen and was married to a French lady. We both lived and worked in the UK and had a son.
We eventually divorced through UK court and my ex moved back to France with our son (with my OK).
At the time of the divorce and since, I have been unemployed and in receipt of JSA. However, I have paid £100 a month CM directly into my ex's bank a/c instead of the CSA guideline of £5 a week. This has been VERY difficult (understatement), but I do not resent it as I can't abide "dads" that try and avoid their obligations (as my own did pre CSA).
2 months ago I received a letter from the CSA out of the blue saying that my ex had lodged a complaint and that they were taking over dealing with CM payments. They asked for details of my employment so that they could begin taking the CM from source. I was, to put it mildly, a little confused. I then spent an inordinate amount of time on the phone with the CSA explaining the situation.
To be fair to the CSA, once the situation had been explained, they were also a little confused as to why my ex had passed CM to them. They had been under the impression that I had not been paying CM at all. It also turned out that my ex had given them an address in England as her address (not true, she lives and works in Toulouse). Once they realised that she actually lives in France, they immediately said that they could not collect payments on her behalf. They said that they would need to confirm her real address and would get back to me, but that they would almost certainly mark the case as closed (from their point of view).
Needless to say, I haven't heard back from them.
Anyhow, that's the background, now to turn to my question.
Today I received a letter from my ex saying that she has lodged a complaint (presumably with the French courts) for arrears. She says that I should be paying 285 Euros a month (and goes on to say that she is being "lenient" with the amount). She also says that if I won't or can't pay the amount then under French law ("Loi des ascendants et des descendants"), my mother (69 and a UK citizen) will be liable for the amount.
So any advice (other than get a French solicitor which I obviously can't afford)? Specifically, will a French court REALLY order that sum in CM, and if they do and I can't pay (which I couldn't) will my mother then have to pay it? It all feels a little unfair....
Hi
I'm afraid that you really do need to speak to someone who has knowledge of French law -but it may be worth giving these people a call https://www.gov.uk/remo-unit-helpline - it's primarily intended for enforcement in UK where the NRP is abroad, but I would think that they would have the most expertise in this area.
I really cannot see that the French court would be able to impose any penalty on your mother - she is bound by UK law, and I would think that French law simply wouldn't apply in civil matters.
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