International Child Support Recovery Ratification Signed By President Obama

New Hague Convention Ratification Agreement Expected to Make International Child Support Collection Quicker and Less Costly!

international child supportThis week President Obama signed the instrument of ratification to the 2007 Hague Child Support and Maintenance Convention addressing International Recovery of Child Support. This international child support signing was accomplished in great part due to the extensive work done by US family lawyers, by the Hague Convention on Private International Law, and by many others.

At present the only signatory countries are EU Members States, Norway, Albania, Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Many other countries are actively considering joining, but were waiting for the United States to endorse it.

International Child Support

The ratification of this agreement provides new provisions that, for the first time on an increasing global scale, will create hopefully efficient, timely, and cost effective procedures for the processing of international child support cases. While these types of procedures have been commonplace in the United States, the same is not true globally. Many foreign countries will not enforce US support orders in the absence of a treaty obligation. This ratification of the Convention by the United States will mean that more children residing in the United States will receive financial support from … Read More... “International Child Support Recovery Ratification Signed By President Obama”

Custodial Interference: Effective Parental Action is Often Necessary

Guidance From A Qualified Family Law Attorney Can Be Key For The Successful Recovery And Return Of A Missing Child In Custodial Interference Cases

Our guest contributor this week is Judianne Cochran a nationally recognized expert/consultant in the following disciplines: sex offender profiling; interstate and international parental abduction (custodial interference); interstate custody and parental alienation. Judi has been a guest contributor to the Ohio Family Law Blog since 2008. She has testified in numerous Courts throughout Ohio and the country. Judi presently resides in Columbus, Ohio.

Custodial Interference ohioWhat do I do if I am a parent victim of parental abduction, legally known as custodial interference?  While there are good laws, both federal and state, in place there is a very frustrating growing trend in not being able to get cooperation in enforcing these laws.  The first, and most damaging, problem begins with the initial attempts to file a report with the police and get the child entered into the system as “missing”.  Without this crucial step, the abducting parent is able to run further and hide deeper before any assistance is provided to the target parent.

Unfortunately, there is a growing trend for police departments to ignore, in effect nullify, … Read More... “Custodial Interference: Effective Parental Action is Often Necessary”

International Divorce: Hague Convention Abduction Report Issued

Hague report lists countries who are not compliant; seek experienced International Divorce and Abduction Attorneys as early as posibile.

International Divorce Hague AbductionThe U.S. Department of State Office of Children’s Issues has now submitted its annual report pertaining to compliance problems on international abduction matters for 2013. This “compliance report” identifies countries that are “Not Compliant with the Convention” and countries that show “Patterns of Noncompliance with the Convention”.   This 51 page report lists cases that have remained open and active for 18 months or more after the convention application was filed.  The report also lists countries with Convention enforcement concerns.

Highlights include:

  • Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras were determined to be “non-compliant” with the Convention.  Both Costa Rica and Guatemala demonstrated non-compliance in the areas of judicial and central authority performance.  Honduras demonstrated non-compliance in the areas of judicial, law enforcement, and central authority performance.
  • Brazil and the Bahamas have showed “patterns of noncompliance” with the Hague.  Bahamian courts improperly treat Hague cases as custody matters, not in an expedited fashion that is required.   Brazil’s issues seem to center with the long court review process, problems locating the child and all the permitted appeals.
  • Four countries were categorized as “Countries with
… Read More... “International Divorce: Hague Convention Abduction Report Issued”