Foreign Jurisdiction

[LeftBehindinGA]

Dear Socrateaser,

Current court orders are in GA (in the US).

My ex and I have joint legal custody of our two minor children. I had sole physical custody of both children until March 2005.

In March 2005, my ex was awarded temporary physical custody of our older child based on his election (which is a matter of law in GA). I retained physical custody of our younger child. My ex lived in AZ at the time.

One week prior to the final custody hearing, my ex announced his intention to move out of the country and take our son with him. At the final custody hearing, I objected but the judge ruled that he could not prevent the move due to our son's election to live with his father.

However, the judge retained jurisdiction over all issues. He made a final custody order but reserved judgment on all financial issues as well as parenting time schedule. His instructions were for the ex to communicate with the court and opposing counsel with updated financial info and school schedules once the move was complete.

The ex failed to supply the updated financial info, stopped paying child support, and alienated my son completely. It has now been more than a year since I have heard from my son.

During this time, the GA court issued a contempt finding, a motion to compel discovery, and a judgment for attorney's fees. The ex still failed to cooperate. The GA court held a trial earlier this year and issued a final order in the case. The ex has violated every provision of that order and still refuses to cooperate.

I filed a Hague Convention application for access. The foreign judge refused to enforce the GA court order but has provided an attorney to represent our son and has encouraged all parties to try to reach a settlement agreement.

At first, the ex would not respond. However, the state of GA recently intercepted his federal tax refund. Now, he wants to negotiate. His settlement offer would involve reducing his arrears by a substantial amount and refunding half of the tax refund--several thousand dollars. In return, he promises to start paying a child support amount that he deems is "fair". The amount he wants to pay is less than half of what the current GA order requires. Also, he promises to encourage our son to resume communication with me. Although, he makes no guarantees that this will happen.

Questions:

1. I dislike the idea of agreeing to his terms with no guarantee of access or of payment. Is it possible to enter into a temporary agreement that would suspend the current GA order and modify the terms to what the ex has demanded but then if he fails to hold up his end, the GA order gets immediately reinstated?

2. Any other suggestions or advice?

[socrateaser]

>Questions:
>
>1. I dislike the idea of agreeing to his terms with no
>guarantee of access or of payment. Is it possible to enter
>into a temporary agreement that would suspend the current GA
>order and modify the terms to what the ex has demanded but
>then if he fails to hold up his end, the GA order gets
>immediately reinstated?

Yes, but what's the point? Your ex wants his money from Uncle Sam. After he gets it, he will immediately stop cooperating/paying again, because he has no incentive to do otherwise.

Unless there is some reason to believe that your ex will want to return to the USA in the future, free of the possibility of a huge support arrearrage and potential jail time for contempt, then you may as well just take the entire tax intercept and then pretend that he doesn't exist, because if he has any brains at all, he will declare his future withholding allowances so that any future U.S. taxable income will leave no refund available to intercept.

>2. Any other suggestions or advice?

See above.

[mistoffolees]

I was thinking the same thing - take what you can get, because you probably won't get another chance. It probably won't cost much to do what you suggested (having the agreement say that if he doesn't keep his side of the bargain that the entire amount becomes due, so it probably wouldn't hurt to do so, but don't count on seeing much.

If he stays out of the US until the kids are grown up, is it possible to collect back support? How long?

By the way, how old are the kids. It seemed strange to me that the judge would say that he couldn't decide to have the kid live with you because he had elected to go with the father. Judges have a huge amount of discretion - did he really say he couldn't do it or just didn't choose to? If the kid is old enough, that makes sense. If he's younger, I would think that the judge should consider keeping the kid in this country.

Good luck.

[socrateaser]

>I was thinking the same thing - take what you can get,
>because you probably won't get another chance. It probably
>won't cost much to do what you suggested (having the agreement
>say that if he doesn't keep his side of the bargain that the
>entire amount becomes due, so it probably wouldn't hurt to do
>so, but don't count on seeing much.
>
>If he stays out of the US until the kids are grown up, is it
>possible to collect back support? How long?

The statute of limitations on a judgment is tolled during the time that a person is beyond the reach of a court of appropriate jurisdiction. Basically, that gives the support obligee forever to collect.

[mistoffolees]

OK. So then she's not really giving anything up by taking what she can get now - and leaving the order in place if he doesn't follow through.