My ex partner has re located with my son boarn in South Africa to the UK, Wigan.. In the beginning she said i must not pay maintenance due to the fact that she will be recieving a government grant.. she then withdrew this and has forced me to start paying again, does anyone know how to deal with this?
Greg
Hi Greg
South Africa is part of the Commonwealth and as such there is a reciprocal agreement between the two countries. Your ex would be within her rights to claim maintenance from you but I think she may need a court order to enforce it. Here's some information from the UK perspective
https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-if-one-parent-lives-abroad
Hello GREGP
All parents have the responsibility to provide financial support for their child, even if they do not live with them. Child maintenance is paid to the parent with the main day-to-day care of the child by the absent parent.
There are various ways that child maintenance can be arranged, one way is via a family-based arrangement. A family-based arrangement is simply an agreement between both parents about who will provide what for a child. It can include money and other kinds of support, for example providing school uniforms. Family-based arrangements are not usually legally binding and there is no-one to enforce payments if they are missed.
The Child Maintenance Options website has a useful tools and guides section that you and the other parent may find helpful when trying to negotiate your family-based arrangement. This can be found at http://www.cmoptions.org.
If a family-based arrangement is not possible for you, you may wish to use the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO). This is an agreement set up via the British Government with other countries, to enable citizens to receive maintenance if a parent lives abroad. You can find a full list of participating countries at www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/protecting-the-vulnerable/official-solicitor/reciprocal-enforcement-of-maintenance-orders/remo-location-list.pdf.
The REMO Unit helps to register and enforce child maintenance orders internationally. You can find out more at https://www.gov.uk/remo-unit-helpline.
Alternatively, you can have a look at the link that Mojo has provided.
For more information on the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website.
The DWP have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
Regards
William