International Child Support -- Should You Be Worried About Your Ex-Spouse Moving To The U.S.?

Many an ex-spouse has considered leaving Canada and moving to the United States in an effort to thwart their child support payments. What these law-dodging parents don't realize is that their move will by no means relieve them from their financial duty. If your ex-spouse is threatening to move to the United States so they don't have to comply with child support orders, read on to learn why you shouldn't be worried.

Their Passport Will Be Denied If They Owe Too Much

In order to leave Canada and enter the United States, your ex-spouse will need to obtain a passport. Before giving them their passport, the government will consult a database to determine whether or not they are eligible to receive one. If your ex-spouse owes you more than $4,000 in child support, the passport will be denied. What if they already have a passport? No need to worry. Any passport they have already obtained will be revoked.

The United States Works With Canada On Child Support Cases

In 2007, the United States, along with Canada and several other countries, signed the Hague Convention Treaty. Countries joined under this treaty work closely with each other to locate parents who owe child support and enforce their payments. Participants in the treaty have a uniform, standardized, simple procedure for communicating child support-associated needs with each other.

Simply put, your situation isn't unique, and there are procedures in place to quickly deal with individuals who hop their country's border in an attempt to dodge child support payments. If your ex-spouse has successfully made it out of Canada, your lawyer can help you begin the process of transferring the enforcement of their child support to the United States by contacting the U.S. Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE).

Your Ex-Spouse Can Be Located Even If They Don't Provide You With An Address

Oftentimes, a child support-owing parent who flees the country does so in an effort to hide out, so they'll avoid leaving a trail that could disclose their whereabouts. No need to worry here, either. The United States offers a Federal Parent Locator Service that can help find individuals with delinquent child support payments. 

The locator utilizes two databases -- the Federal Case Registry and The National Directory of New Hires. The National Directory of New Hires keeps track of all employment and unemployment records in the United States. Individuals listed in this database are cross-referenced against the Federal Case Registry, which hold the information for all child support cases either originating in the United States or transferred to the United States from any country that has signed the Hague Convention Treaty.

Your ex-spouse will eventually need some kind of income upon moving to the United States, so they will need to either secure a job, or file for unemployment benefits. As soon as they do, their personal information is registered with the National Directory of New Hires and they can be easily located by the state officials in charge of enforcing their child support payments.

It should be noted that the Federal Parent Locator Service is not available to private individuals, so in order to access the information, your family lawyer will need to request permission to use the service from a state agency or court.

If your ex-spouse is threatening to ditch the financial responsibilities they owe to your child by leaving Canada and moving to the United States, let them go and don't spend a minute of your time worrying about your child support payments. With the help of a lawyer from a firm like Little Valerie M Law Corp, you'll be able to locate your ex-spouse no matter where in the United States they take up residence, and your child support benefits will be restored quickly, if they're even ever interrupted at all.