Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

[trutravels]

Hi, my husband who I just married but who I've known for years recently got served with papers from the local court that he owes over 70,000 in child support to his ex-wife who lives in Germany. We talked with a lawyer who basically laughed in our face, since my husband stopped paying in 2007 because he left Germany ( ex military) and because his ex wife was not allowing him contact with his 2 children even though the courts there granted joint custody. The lawyer said by law he is recognized as a deadbeat because he could pay but willfully did not. We just purchased a home and 2 new cars, I currently do not work an am a full-time student. The lawyer said they will most likely along with the garnishment order seize his accounts, drivers license, passports,and put a lein on home and cars. The amount they want to garnish Ieaves us with barely nothing to pay our bills. The lawyer also said the courts here can do nothing to modify the German court order we have to obtain an international lawyer to petition the courts there to make any changes which at this time will be unlikely. What do we do? Also she is seeking sole custody on grounds of abandonment, can she do this? The ex wife is an American who lives in Germany can she even use the German courts?

[AFFA]

re: Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

I wish to inform you that place where child resides will have jurisdiction. In this regard German court will have jurisdiction if child resides in Germany. Further if German court has passed any child support order then he can file for modification of order and obtain relief in Germany or alternatively may shift assets to a place where German Court orders may not be enforced. Enforcement of foreign court order depends upon laws of each country and hence asset may be shifted in a country that it may not be recovered.

AFF

[sandyclaus]

re: Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

Hi, my husband who I just married but who I've known for years recently got served with papers from the local court that he owes over 70,000 in child support to his ex-wife who lives in Germany. We talked with a lawyer who basically laughed in our face, since my husband stopped paying in 2007 because he left Germany ( ex military) and because his ex wife was not allowing him contact with his 2 children even though the courts there granted joint custody. The lawyer said by law he is recognized as a deadbeat because he could pay but willfully did not. We just purchased a home and 2 new cars, I currently do not work an am a full-time student. The lawyer said they will most likely along with the garnishment order seize his accounts, drivers license, passports,and put a lein on home and cars. The amount they want to garnish Ieaves us with barely nothing to pay our bills. The lawyer also said the courts here can do nothing to modify the German court order we have to obtain an international lawyer to petition the courts there to make any changes which at this time will be unlikely. What do we do? Also she is seeking sole custody on grounds of abandonment, can she do this? The ex wife is an American who lives in Germany can she even use the German courts?

You are one of the ignorant few who seem to believe that child support and visitation are inextricably connected - that you get to stop paying child support if the other parent stops you from visiting the child. Your husband made that mistake, and now he has a huge child support arrears that he is desperately trying to avoid paying.

That lawyer is correct. Your husband has subjected himself to everything that the law can throw at him in order to force him to pay his child support obligation. Instead of refusing to pay child support, the appropriate response to his ex-wife's refusal to honor visitation would have been to take her back to court and file for contempt. If he had done that, not only would he have seen sympathy from the judge, but he could have kept his child support obligations up to date and not be in the trouble he's in now - PLUS it would have been far less expensive in the long run.

So BOO HOO, your husband now has created the situation where your brand new house and pretty new cars are in danger. Your husband should have thought about that before abandoning his kids the way he did.

[Disagreeable]

re: Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

I would sell one of the cars, to bring down the overdue payments. She is within her right to do all the above.

[goddessoflubboc]

re: Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

And OP needs to get a job bc it seems new husbands current income is spoken for.

He left the country. He presumably brought her there through his military service. He can't now say well she can't do this bc she's in Germany. He has an obligation to support his children.

[rcnrodi]

Re: Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

What is sad in all this is that your husband has moved on and did not attempt in any way to have contact with his children. He seems pretty well off to provide for you, that he never once invested in a lawyer to act on his behalf to enforce the joint custody before this order appeared. You both seem surprised she (ex-wife) is going after support she is entitled too. Since you said you knew him for years , does not seem he was not bothered by not having contact with them until it came apparent that he could no longer hide from his duties. It also seems to me that he thought in all this time he was out of grasp of the law which must makes this all the most shocking for the two of you who went on to this fabulous life and no thought of how these children have been living for the past 5 years. Which comes to my next point, they shared joint custody, he has had no contact, she needs parental permission to travel abroad....it is abandonment. Also, what court system would you like her to use? Even if she was in the states he would still have to pay support for his children. Real parents fight for their children, he obviously had the means to do it and instead did nothing. You married a real prize...

[Friend In Court]

Re: Worried... (German court order, International lawyer)

Hi, my husband who I just married but who I've known for years recently got served with papers from the local court that he owes over 70,000 in child support to his ex-wife who lives in Germany. We talked with a lawyer who basically laughed in our face, since my husband stopped paying in 2007 because he left Germany ( ex military) and because his ex wife was not allowing him contact with his 2 children even though the courts there granted joint custody. The lawyer said by law he is recognized as a deadbeat because he could pay but willfully did not. We just purchased a home and 2 new cars, I currently do not work an am a full-time student. The lawyer said they will most likely along with the garnishment order seize his accounts, drivers license, passports,and put a lein on home and cars. The amount they want to garnish Ieaves us with barely nothing to pay our bills. The lawyer also said the courts here can do nothing to modify the German court order we have to obtain an international lawyer to petition the courts there to make any changes which at this time will be unlikely. What do we do? Also she is seeking sole custody on grounds of abandonment, can she do this? The ex wife is an American who lives in Germany can she even use the German courts?

Yes, the ex wife not only can but must use the German courts if she and the children are living in Germany and that is where the support order was made.

Your new husband had and still has a duty to support his children, regardless of any other issues such as visitation. His recourse as to visitation would have been to take her back to court for contempt of that order.

He owes the $70,000 in back support and once reduced to a judgment can be collected where he is; real estate attached, vehicles, bank accounts, whatever he owns.

He can retain a matrimonial/family lawyer in Germany to have the order modified if his circumstances have changed since the original support order was made. Such a motion will not relieve him of back support -- something he should have paid and not let go to arrears. From the amount, those that characterize him as a deadbeat dad are not being overly harsh. He had a enough resources to purchase a home and 2 new cars meanwhile his children were going without. It will be hard for him to drum up sympathy. That is saved for his children.