The non-payment of child support affects many U.S. parents and children despite governmental attempts to enforce support orders. If you think it’s hard to collect from a parent here in Florida, imagine the difficulties of getting support from a foreign parent.
The U.S. recognizes the obstacles families encounter when a noncustodial parent resides outside of the country. Our country has reciprocal agreements with other nations to facilitate collection.
Working with foreign countries
A good first step in collecting international child support is filing a claim here in Florida. If your co-parent lives in a reciprocating nation, that country will have a partnering agency enforce the child support under its own laws.
Currently, America has reciprocal arrangements with 44 other nations. If your co-parent resides in a non-participating country, a local legal advocate can help you find a remedy to collect your unpaid child support.
Some ways the government facilitates foreign child support enforcement include the following.
- It denies passports to international parents who are in arrears ($2,500 or more).
- It promotes communication between parents, U.S. governments and foreign countries to increase awareness of international child support matters.
- It encourages foreign nations to join the Hague Child Support Convention to ease the process of enforcing and collecting support from other countries.
In the modern economic environment, caring for children on a single income is virtually impossible for most custodial parents. The enforcement of child support—no matter where your co-parent lives—ensures that your children continue to thrive.
Learning more about foreign and state child support can help you find a solution.