Claiming Maintenance From Someone Abroad
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How Can I Do This?
By a process usually referred to as Reciprocal Enforcement. This enables you to apply to recover maintenance from someone living abroad.
How Will This Happen?
Scotland is party to various international agreements whereby countries enforce Scottish maintenance orders and send the funds back to you. For an up-to-date list of participating countries, please contact the Central Authority for Scotland.
What If I Don't Have A Court Order?
In some cases, if you do not have a court order you can apply overseas to have a court hearing where the payer resides to decide a future level of maintenance to be paid. For an up-to-date list of participating countries please contact the Central Authority for Scotland.
How To Apply
You should first of all contact the Central Authority for Scotland who will go over the options available to you. You should note that the Central Authority for Scotland is entirely neutral in the process and is unable to offer legal advice. They will, however, tell you what specific documents are required in order to register a case abroad.
The Role Of The Central Authority
Under the various conventions/agreements the Scottish Executive Justice Department acts as the Central Authority for Scotland. The Central Authority is the information point between reciprocating countries, solicitors, courts and members of the public, to ensure that you are kept up to date on progress made and the working of the reciprocal arrangements. The Central Authority arranges for documents to be transmitted to other countries and can also arrange for translations of documents where required. They will also pay for these translations.
Costs
Generally speaking, you should incur no costs when seeking to enforce a maintenance order abroad. If you require the assistance of a solicitor at the outset you may qualify for legal aid.
Contacts
For further information please contact:
Central Authority for Scotland
Scottish Executive
Justice Department
2nd Floor West
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG
E-mail:Marcus.houston@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
David.berry@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0131 244 4826/7
Fax: 0131 244 4848
Web: www.scotland.gov.uk/reciprocal_enforcement